You Just Can't Stop the Rain
by fruitspunchsamuraig
Summary: Assigned a high school project, Naruto and Gaara form a relationship that is considered to be rather dysfunctional and understandably so considering all the corrupt business, gangs, and blood involved. Slash. AU. Chapters alternate between Naruto's and Gaara's first POV, and a couple of other characters eventually. Rating 'MA' (18 and up) for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1: The New Student

**_Warnings _**_(mostly directed at future chapters)_**_: _**_There will be cussing, blood (lots and lots and not entirely conventional), slash (boyxboy), occasional citrus (smut), violence (including physical, mental, sexual, and child abuse). I don't specify which chapters contain what. If any of the above makes you uncomfortable, I recommend not continuing with this story. Thank you._

**_Disclaimer: _**_Naruto and all the characters belong to Kishimoto, Masashi. I don't earn any profit from this. Please do not perform any of the illegal/dangerous/naughty activities in this story._

_###_

Naruto

Chapter 1 "The New Student"

June 20; Monday

It takes only one step into a classroom to flare up my yawning syndrome. It's so bad, I could probably chomp on an entire human skull with just one yawn. My book bag was heavy in my hand even though it was pretty much empty. Maybe because this place is so close to hell, gravity has a much stronger pull here. Reaching my desk at the front of the classroom, I slumped down uncomfortably.

Why the hell do they make these things so cramped? DO WE LOOK LIKE TODDLERS?

I yawned again.

Why the hell didn't I just skip?

Folding my arms over the desk, I just used them as a makeshift pillow.

Sleep is the only girlfriend I'll ever need. She's so smart, sweet, and sexy, and she's always there for me when I need her! I love-

"Naruto, wake up!"

The sting of a ruler slapping against my neck had me hopping up on one foot out of my desk. My classmates' laughter could almost make my ears bleed either from how annoying they sounded or maybe it was just from my embarrassment. Either way my jumping around stopped as I turned to glare at the jerks, but this only had Iruka-sensei smacking me with the ruler again. Slumping back into my seat, I massaged my burning neck.

"Nice dancing, loser."

The most annoying voice of all. I directed all my anger at my I-know-it-all-and-I-think-that-I'm-better-than-you-S-O-B classmate, Sasuke. I hate him.

"Shut up, bastard!" I rubbed at my neck again. It still burned like hell. "Oh." I let my anger fall. Suddenly, my entire body shifted toward Sasuke. "I got another game for my VIE station! Are you gonna come check it out Saturday?"

All he did was smirk as an answer, and all the damn girls in the class squealed like idiots. Even Sakura-chan squealed, but she's not an idiot… she's just… blind. Yeah! Blind. Love is blind. Not that she loves Sasuke. She just thinks so, so she's, like… blinded. What? … I hate him. Why the hell am I friends with this bastard?

I glared at him again, but he just ignored me and continued reading his book.

Whatever. Ignore me all you want, you bastard. I'll curse you with my hate. Yeah. You're gonna wake up bald tomorrow. A bald Sasuke. I started chuckling at the thought.

"God, Naruto. Giggling over him like that. Don't tell me you've fallen for Sasuke, too?" Iruka-sensei stared at me suspiciously.

"W-WHAT THE HELL?" I jumped back out of my desk. "DON'T SAY SUCH DISGUSTING STUFF!"

I glanced over at Sasuke. He was making the most repulsed expression I've ever seen on his face before: As if I just threw up all over his head. He scooted his desk away from me.

"THE HELL?! DON'T BELIEVE HIM!" I shouted at my 'supposed' friend.

The entire class started laughing at me.

Tch. I don't have to take this crap!

I grabbed my practically empty backpack off the floor and headed for the door.

"Oi! Naruto!" Iruka was about to come after me.

I made it to the door before he could and quickly pulled it open. What I saw in front of me instantly made my blood run cold. I was face to face with cold, green eyes.

"As I was saying before Naruto threw a tantrum, we have a new student. Gaara-kun, you can come in now."

The eyes narrowed at me. A glare. I stumbled backwards and landed on my backside. The classes' laughter at my fall stopped as soon as they laid eyes on this 'Gaara' guy. He had this real scary air about him. Like, he could kill as a hobby… or cannibalism.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Iruka-sensei smiled all polite at the kid, as if totally ignorant of his intensity.

"Sunano, Gaara."

The kid even had an eerie voice. I shuddered at the sound.

"Naruto, since you're so keen to move around, you can be Gaara's guide around school. But, for now get back in your seat, or I'll send you to the principal."

My eyes widened at both being this weird kid's freakin' guide AND being sent to that terrifying woman! I went back to my seat, grumbling and dragging my bag with me.

"Gaara, take any free seat you like," Iruka-sensei gestured over to us students, "I don't assign seats with the exception of troublesome students."

The redhead walked towards the back. The class was silently watching him and each of his steps echoed. For the first time ever, I'm actually happy Iruka-sensei forced me to sit in the front (as one of those _troublesome _students even though it's really just so he can abuse me with a ruler!) 'cause at least there ain't no empty seats around me.

###

Damn it. I really don't want the bell to ring. Wow. That's also a first.

I twisted my head around to stare at the creepy, new kid. He was just slipping a binder into his oddly shaped bag: It looked like a rounded hourglass or something. Groaning, I forced myself to approach him.

"So, uhh, what's your next class? I guess I'll, like, take you or something." I didn't really get what being a 'guide' meant if me and this kid didn't even share any other classes. Did Iruka-sensei expect me to be late to all my classes or what?

Gaara just glanced at me before standing up and walking away without a word.

The rude bastard! I'm being all nice to him and he just walks away!

I ran after him and reached out for his shoulder, but he side-stepped, and I almost fell forward. I quickly caught my balance though.

"What the hell's your problem? You don't ignore someone being nice to you!"

He just blinked at me. "You don't seem competent enough to help." He turned back around and walked off.

That's it. This guy and Sasuke: I hate them both. What the hell is with all these rude guys? Doesn't anyone have any manners these days? Damn it, I sound like an old geezer. They're making me age a hundred years.

I waddled into my second period class.

And, oh what joy – Gaara's here, too. Even more joy, everyone is avoiding him like the plague he is, and I just had to come in late!

I had to sit in the last seat available next to the jerk.

"Thanks for blessing us with your presence, Naruto." Kotetsu-sensei sarcastically smiled in my direction. "We know you have so much on your plate lately."

I stared at the TA, who had the bandage wrapped around the bridge of his nose, with boredom.

Izumo-sensei sighed. "We just introduced the new-"

I cut off the teacher with only one eye. Well, he didn't really only have one eye, but I couldn't see the left one through his brown hair.

I don't know how he didn't walk into everything like that.

"Su-something, Gaara. Yeah, I've met 'im, already." I glared at the new kid to the right of me.

He paid little mind, which just made me angrier. I just wanted to kick him off his high-horse and let the horse trample all over him.

HAH! That'd show him.

###

Ring. Ring. Ring. DAMN IT, BELL, RING! I hate Literature class. Who the hell cares about Shakespeare and his lady friend whose breath reeks? Jeez! I guess they didn't have manners a thousand years ago either. Wait… was Shakespeare a thousand years ago? I don't know. No one cares anyway. 'Cause God knows when I go to a job interview they're going to ask to me to recite some rude poem, or what year Shakespeare died!

I looked over at the redhead next to me. He's more interesting than the slow tick of the asshole clock, and definitely more interesting than the gibberish Izumo-sensei was reading.

Why's he wearing gloves? Oh. He's actually writing down notes? He didn't seem the studious type. More like the: I-do-what-I-want-and-if-you-try-to-stop-me-I'll-cut-you type.

I laughed a little and though it was low, Gaara still caught it and glanced at me. I grinned at him. His brow creased, and he glared. That's when I remembered that he was a jerk, so I glared back at him. This only seemed to relax him, and he returned his focus to the Shakespeare lecture.

Nerd!

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"There will be a written exam on what we talked about today at the end of the week, and it's worth 20 percent of this term's grade." The bell rung and Izumo-sensei dismissed the class.

My jaw slackened.

I didn't remember a single thing. Not even the topic! I mean, Shakespeare, but what about him?

My teeth chattered.

I can't ask Shikamaru; he just B.S's everything and passes with an average grade. Kiba's also useless. Damn it! Why doesn't Sasuke have this class with me? He's my only smart friend.

I slammed my head down on the desk. I heard Gaara shuffling his papers next to me. I turned my head to face him.

I could ask to borrow his notes…

I stared at him intently for a while. Maybe noticing my gaze, he turned to me and blinked. I lifted my head off the table to look at him eye-to-eye.

"Could I borrow your notes?" Somehow, it just slipped out.

He just blinked at me for a while. Then, he shut his binder and set it into his stupid bag.

"WHO NEEDS 'EM! THEY'RE PROBABLY WRONG ANYWAY!" I grabbed my bag and stomped off.

###

Finally, school is over. Though it's not like I can head home yet.

I rested my head over my folded arms on my desk.

Gaara's in my sixth period class as well. How annoying. Why's he also staying behind in the class? My bus doesn't arrive for a while. What the hell's his excuse?

I turned my head to glare at him from across the class room. He didn't notice though. He was writing something. Probably doing homework because he's a nerd.

After a while, I felt my eyes soften.

Rumors about him have already spread throughout the school. I mean, it's to be expected. He's got that scary aura. I guess there's also that tattoo on his forehead. It just screams for attention and rumors. It suits him though. It draws attention away from his lack of eyebrows. The eyeliner helps, too. I wonder why he wears those gloves. It's still the middle of summer. I can't even believe they let him into the school looking like that. They threatened to suspend me for a freakin' ear piercing. Maybe they allowed it because his dad is supposed to be some hotshot. I think he's a CEO of some corporation or another. It's a rumor, so I don't know if it's true. But, if he's rich, why does he look so miserable? Must be spoiled rotten or something.

I heard a beep. Gaara pulled out his phone and looked at it. Then, he started packing his stuff away. I glanced at the clock and saw that I had to get going in a couple minutes, too. I stretched out in my seat, and my eyes followed Gaara as he left the room. I grabbed my bag and left the class, too.

I was picking at the gunk in my ear as I walked down the empty hallways, but I stopped when I saw three big guys block Gaara's way from the exit. I shifted myself behind the lockers, so they couldn't see me. I'm only going to help if things get violent, otherwise I really don't want to get involved. It'd be stupid to start things up again.

"You're in the way." Gaara's voice was as cold as when I first heard it.

The tallest of the group folded his arms. "You think you're untouchable, don't you? You think everyone'll just let you do whatever you want? We aren't scared of you, psycho."

I didn't know what Gaara did. I could only see the back of his head, but based on his pattern he's either glaring at them or staring at them like they're idiots. Either way, doing something that'll just piss them off more.

"Tch." One of the big guys brought his arm up.

Damn.

I was about to run over there, but then Gaara grabbed the guy's arm and twisted it behind his back. The guy cried out in pain. The other guys tried to come at Gaara, but he kicked one in the stomach and sent him crashing into the third guy. The redhead tossed the guy in his hands against the lockers. He then walked off like nothing just happened. I just blinked at his indifferent walk.

What the hell is he?

###

June 21; Tuesday

In first period, Gaara was called to the principal's office. I waited a couple minutes after he left to ask Iruka-sensei for a bathroom pass. Shizune was accustomed to me hanging around outside the principal's office, so she didn't even question my presence and instead went to get Tsunade's coffee. Although, she did warn me that Tsunade was in a meeting and that I must not interrupt. I told her that I would never do such a thing. I was, however, going to eavesdrop.

The door was slightly open already. I just pulled it a little further to let my eyes peek through.

"We have three students claiming that you attacked them. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Tsunade looked over a few papers.

Gaara remained silent.

"Gaara, if you don't even try to deny it, then there's nothing I can do, and you'll be suspended."

I stood to my feet and busted through the door.

"Hey, old lady. Iruka-sensei's being a total pain aga-, oh! Hey, Gaara! How are you doing? I saw those three guys gang up on you! I was about to call a teacher when they tried to attack you, but couldn't find one_ anywhere_. But, man it's lucky you knew how to defend yourself. Did you take self-defense lesso-"

"That's enough, Naruto!" Tsunade sighed, and I saw a small smile on her lips.

She's a hard ass, but she doesn't like punishing her students for no reason – unless that student's me, of course.

"Gaara, you're excused."

Tsunade switched her eyes to me after the silent redhead exited the office. She stared at me dully and held her hand out for my 'supposed' trouble slip. I handed her my bathroom pass. She glanced at it, then back at me with a very irritated expression.

I laughed sheepishly with a hand held behind my head. "He must have accidentally given me the wrong slip."

###

As usual, I stayed behind at the end of sixth period. Not so usual as yet, Gaara also stayed behind –working on homework or something again. I examined him curiously. The rumors about him were getting more and more bizarre. Some said he sacrifices animals to Satan, or that he cuts to clean himself with his blood.

I'll tell you, the people that come up with that crazy gibberish are the psychotic ones! Well, I don't really 'know' that it's not true, but I mean… it's just too ridiculous.

I don't even know why I helped him out. He's been nothing, but a jerk to me since he's gotten here. Well maybe… maybe I do know why. I guess it's because he kind of reminds me of how I used to be. How I was before the perverted old man returned to the country and was able to adopt me and set me straight, or at least as straight as I could be. I'll always hate school, but he also hated school as a kid – he's pretty easygoing about it.

Gaara was writing pretty quickly.

I wonder if he hates school. It doesn't look like it. I'm sure he hates the people in it rather than the actual learning. Does he need someone to set him straight? No, I guess he's a little more responsible than I was. He only hurt those guys to get them out of the way. Back then, I would have pummeled the bastards to a pulp. It really was just self-defense in his case.

Gaara started shuffling his papers into a neat stack. He stood from his desk, and I lifted my head from mine as I saw him make his way towards me. I blinked at him.

What did he want?

He handed me the stack of papers, and I took it cautiously. I glanced at the paper. It read, 'Shakespeare Notes' on the top in dainty script. I looked back up at him.

He- this jerk just did a nice thing!

I wasn't really sure how to react. I kind of just sat there, staring at him in awe for a minute.

"Th-there's a photocopy machine in the library. I'll copy these real quick and get them back to you." I stood from my seat to head to the library.

As I turned away, I felt something tug at my shirt. I looked over my shoulder at Gaara. He released my shirt and was looking off to the side.

"I wasn't aware of a photocopier."

I blinked at him, and let his words sink in. I glanced at the papers in my hand. There were three pages worth, front and back. "Did-did you rewrite all this for me?"

He looked back back over and glared at me. "No."

"Pfft." I laughed without restraint, and this only made him glare harder.

He's not a scary guy, after all. He's just serious and proud, probably a little awkward. "Thanks, Gaara! I really owe you one. If you need anything, just ask." I wiped away my laughter-tears. "I'm Uzumaki, Naruto, by the way."

I feel stupid for being so scared when I first met him now. I don't even know why I was so scared. I've fought plenty of shady characters.

My smile fell.

He must have experienced some pretty bad things to have become such a hardened guy.

###

**A/N:** I just wanted give you a little notice that this story moves a little slow. You could say there's two parts. The first part is, I suppose, a bit 'fluffy' while the second part... probably won't be. One thing is for sure is that it will be a long story. I hope you'll enjoy it :3! Also this story will be taking a lot of elements from the series, and I just kind of twist them a tad.

Thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2: Desire

.

Gaara

Chapter 2 "Desire"

June 24; Friday

I still can't understand why Father suddenly decided to send me to school. I know, without a doubt, that he's plotting something. However, I don't know what it is. Perhaps Baki knows, and that's why he hasn't been around recently. That's fine. I prefer having the house to myself. Having Baki breathing down my neck whenever he is here is irksome.

I pulled my gourd-outlined bag over my shoulder when I got the text that the driver had arrived to take me to the school. Upon entering the limo, the scent of Temari's perfume mixing with Kankuro's cologne burned my nose. They weren't inside, though. No, they are taken to school first from a different location. They're also driven back first, so I'm stuck in the final class until the driver returns. If I asked for a personal driver, my father would most certainly comply, but I'd rather not ask him for anything.

As expected, everyone was avoiding me once again today. No one has tried anything else since the first day. Instead, they all cower in their corners, whispering into one another's ears - as if the chanting will have me casted me out of their lives.

There was one unexpected detail, however. A blond, loud one. In second period, he's glancing at the clock, rolling his eyes, or staring at me. At the end of sixth period, he's usually just staring at me. I don't really understand why. Does he believe he can cast me away with his stare? Probably.

Still, he assisted me the other day by saying he saw me defending myself. I did not want to be indebted to him, so I rewrote the notes he asked for on my first day and gave them to him. I regret it now, however. He seemed to believe I did it for him. I didn't though. It was for my sake. He refused to believe that and now while he stares at me, he smiles.

I find this person to be an oddity. I know that he was scared of me just like everyone else was on the first day. Yet, he approached me, glared at me, smiled at me, yelled at me, helped me, stared at me, and thanked me. Why? I must have been right. He's incompetent. He lacks a sense of danger.

Sixth period ended already, and I was working on my math assignment when I saw the blond approaching from the corner of my eye.

"Hey, Gaara!" His grin was lopsided, and his eyes were lidded.

I didn't react to his greeting, just like I didn't in second period.

"Since tomorrow is Saturday, do you want to hang out at my place? I'm having other friends over too, and we're gonna play with my VIE station!"

This blond was really strange. Well, he and his friends must be planning something. Otherwise, his invitation wouldn't make much of any sense.

He frowned at my lack of response.

What did he expect?

"Would'ya come if I called it a study group?"

I blinked at him. "No."

Why would I?

He smirked for some unknown reason. A true oddity.

"Then, how about Sunday? It can be just the two of us. You don't like crowds, right?"

Crowds? I nodded. It's true, they do bother me.

The blond stared with wide blue eyes.

He misunderstood which question I had answered. "I meant, I don't like cr-"

He cut me off. "GREAT! Do you like games? What kind of snacks do you prefer? I usually just eat instant ramen. OH! If your parents are cool, you can even stay over and we can go to school together on Monday. My guardian wouldn't care. We could go to the movies or something, too. Maybe the pool nearby! Then we can…"

The boy wouldn't stop talking. I resolved to just wait for him to get it out of his system before explaining. However, the moment his lips stopped moving he ran over to his bag. He took out a sheet of paper and jotted something down. Then, he came back over and held it out to me. I just stared at the sheet blankly. His address and phone number were written on it – useless information. I heard him sigh, so I looked back up at him. He reached over and slid the sheet in one of my binder folds.

"I'm not going." I started packing my things away after hearing the ring of my cell.

"But, you said you would." He pouted.

I said no such thing.

I began to leave, but he tried to reach out for me; I could see his reflection through the door's rectangular window. I turned my body away from him. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him steady himself to avoid falling.

"Stay away from me." I shut the door behind me.

###

July 3; Sunday

Persistent. He isn't anything if not persistent. Except, perhaps, irritating.

That was all I could think after I answered the thunderous knocking at my door to reveal the gawking blond from school.

I said nothing and did nothing - simply, stared at him.

"I took a peek at some files in the old hag's office when she was on break." He answered an unasked question.

Still, I simply stared.

Why was he here? What did he hope to gain from interacting with me?

"Oh! There's that glare again!" He laughed.

At what? At me? Did I amuse him?

I've never had another person come to my place of living willingly. At least, not while knowing I lived here. No, the moment any laid their eyes on me: I was avoided. However, this one is trying to force himself between me and my door to let himself in. I firmly stood between him and the entrance.

"Well, if you don't want to play at my place and not at your place… how about the beach? It's really close by! I can feel the breeze from here. I haven't been to the beach in a long time. The last time I went, I think was… umm, I don't know. Kiba was there. Chouji brought a picnic, but he threw a fit when I stole a leg of chicken and…"

He really could talk. Did he not breathe? More importantly, why is he talking to me? Coming here all alone, he's defenseless. Maybe his friends were waiting somewhere. Either way, I have no desire to go anywhere with anyone.

"…I think it was sometime in spring since it was before school started. Anyway, it's been a while. So, how about it?" He stared at me.

His eyes were big, blue, and… innocent. I wanted to run a knife through them.

"Oh wow, that's a…uhh, kind of a creepy smile there, Gaara." His laugh was nervous.

Perhaps, his sense of danger wasn't completely lacking.

Pushing the cravings away, I let my face relax to indifference. "Leave."

"C'mon! You're on the opposite side of town from me. I came all the way here to hang out with you! Don't be so cold and play with me. I turned down all kinds of awesome invitations to grace you with my presence." Once again, a grin.

I didn't respond. I stepped back into the house and was about to close the door, but the blond pushed it back. I glared at him.

Who does he think he is? Does he believe he's impervious to pain… to death?

"Glare all you want. You can even try to beat me up. I'm gonna warn you, though: I might not look it, but I can fight, too." He chuckled. "I'm far from inexperienced or naïve… at least when it comes to fighting."

In comparison to me, he is certainly inexperienced and naïve. I cannot fight him, though. I can already feel it. I wouldn't be able to stop. And if I ever want to get away from my father, this thirst mustn't be quenched.

"Why?" Why won't he leave me alone?

The blond blinked. "Why…?"

"What is it you want from me?"

His confused expression slipped into another grin. "Your friendship!"

Friendship? Nonsense. "Why?"

"You kinda remind me of… someone from the past. But, you also seem like a pretty cool guy. Yeah, you're kinda weird and whatever, but you ain't a bad person."

He's speaking a lot of nonsense. That's fine. He's distracted. I forced the door shut while his pressure on it had weakened.

"HEY!"

He can knock as loud and as long as he pleases. I am not going to answer it.

I can feel the desire swell in my chest. No, I need to… I need it, now. The temptation to lure him inside… No… no. If I use anyone for this, then Father will involve himself. That boy has really stirred it up. I have to avoid him, but it's too late for now. I already need it.

Leaning against the door for support, I brought my hand up to my lips. My teeth rested against my palm before I quickly bit down, tearing through my skin. I unclenched my jaw and watched as the red fluid, the evidence of existence, dribbled out. I slid down to the floor. My breathing was low, but audible. My own blood cannot satiate me, but it can curb the desire for at least a short time.


	3. Chapter 3: Trial

.

Naruto

Chapter 3 "Trial"

June 26; Sunday

"Tch." I kicked his door one last time before shoving my hands in my pockets and heading to the bus stop.

I knew getting him to open up was going to be difficult. There ain't much point getting hung up over a couple rejections. It still bothers me though. Whatever. Whether he likes it or not, Gaara's getting a friend!

I remember what it's like to be resented and alone. I pretended it didn't bother me. I actually got myself to believe it didn't bother me. No matter how much Ero-Sennin reached his hand out to me, I just swatted it away every time. But, he didn't give up on me. Eventually, he got to me and helped me. That's when I let myself feel it. All the pain of being alone, the pain of being hated… Having someone there for me, it helped ease it all.

I don't know if Gaara has anyone in his life that helps ease his pain, but if he didn't before – he does now. And just like Ero-Sennin, I'm not going to give up. I've made my decision, and I won't back out on it.

The bus was late. The bus was always late. I sighed and slumped down on the bus stop's bench.

"Naruto, is that you?" I heard from the side.

I turned to see who it was. When I recognized the long, pink hair and bright green eyes, I felt my cheeks burn a little.

"Sakura-chan!" I scooted over to allow her to take a seat next to me.

She accepted the invitation. "What are you doing on this side of town?"

"I wanted to hang out with Gaara. He lives a couple houses down from here."

Sakura's eyes were wide with fear. "G-Gaara…? Naruto…, you, do you have a death wish? That guy is really bad news."

"Meh. I think people are just jumping to conclusions like always." I folded my arms. I was kind of annoyed that Sakura was also one of those people jumping to conclusions.

Sakura shook her head. "Naruto, that… that monster killed his own uncle in cold blood!"

What the hell? Monster? W-wait, what does she mean killed his uncle? Gaara couldn't have done that… could he?

"So, you hadn't heard…" She leaned back on the bench. "It was quite a few years ago, though… It was all over the news. A little kid brutally killed his uncle. There was a trial, and he was tried as not guilty. That it was just self-defense. But, it was obvious. He did it and didn't care at all. During the trail, he was just... entertained by the whole thing. The only reason they said he wasn't guilty was because his father bribed the jury. He probably bribed the psychologist to testify that his son wasn't a complete sociopath, too."

I don't really know Gaara, but this is all… a trial?

I turned my head to face his house, then shook it and faced the street.

I don't know. I don't know what to believe.

"Naruto, did you hear me?" Sakura rested a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched. "Naruto?"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I-I…" I could hear a bus driving up. I didn't know if it was my bus, but I had to get away. "This is my bus, so I'll, uhh, I'll see you tomorrow." I forced a smile. I didn't want Sakura-chan to worry about me.

"Are you going to stay away from him?"

Damn. Her face was covered in worry.

"Ha-haha, can't keep the bus waitin'!" I waved with my back turned to her and boarded the bus.

Yeah, I'm real damn smooth.

Swiping my bus pass, I headed to the back with my hands shoved into my jean pockets. Thank God, it wasn't crowded. Not so thankfully, this bus takes an extra twenty minutes before reaching my place. I sighed noisily as I sat down on the window seat.

This was all too stressful. I mean, I just decided not to give up on Gaara, but… this whole thing about his uncle isn't just a regular rumor. There was an actual trial and everything.

My head banged against the bus window.

Maybe, for once, I should really just mind my own damn business. He wants nothing to do with me anyway. But, I also thought I wanted nothing to do with anyone. But then again, I've never… killed anyone.

"GA~H!" I aggressively ruffled my hair.

The few bus-riders turned to stare at me, and the lady riders clutched their purses tightly.

Whatever.

I let my head bang against the window again.

Thinking just didn't suit me.

###

June 27; Monday

In class the next morning, I was using my desk as a pillow as I normally did in first period. Luckily, Sasuke was distracted by his book. I really wasn't in any mood to chitchat. Not that Sasuke 'chitchats', but he does make those annoying comments every now and again. I half-expected him to comment on how I was early, but he barely noticed me when he walked in.

Did I even sleep last night?

A yawn escaped.

Sakura-chan didn't say anything to me when she walked in, but she certainly stared at me for a while before making small talk with her friends. Then, Gaara walked in. My eyes followed him to his seat. This involved me twisting my neck in unnatural ways since I sat in the front while he sat at the very back of the class, and I also refused to lift my head off the desk. It was too heavy. As my eyes tried to settle back to the front, they caught a glimpse of Sakura-chan, whose glare bluntly stated that if I dared to approach Gaara, she'd punch me. Another yawn and I shifted my eyes to the blank white board. Sakura-chan… doesn't punch playfully. I shuddered.

I still hadn't come to any kind of decision, though. But, I knew second period would decide it for me. Was I going to sit next to Gaara like usual? Or, would I avoid him and sit somewhere else? Even if I had no other choice but to sit next to him, would I greet him? Ignore him?

The bell signaling the end of first period rang. I stayed in my seat with my face buried in my arms against the desk, while everyone else packed up for second period. I smelt the scent of flowers; Sakura was hovering over me. I sighed and was about to say something, but someone called for her, and she hesitantly walked off. Whatever. I didn't know what to say anyway.

Sluggishly, I dragged my feet over to Izumo-sensei's class. I was late, so there was really only the seat on the left of Gaara available. However, someone was absent – a seat in the back was free, next to Shikamaru. I stood in the doorway for what felt like forever. My fingers twitched at my sides.

"We're waiting, your highness." Damn Kotetsu-sensei's freakin' sarcasm.

My feet really didn't want to move.

Damn it all.

I headed for the seat next to Gaara, but then I strode passed it and to the empty seat next to Shikamaru. After I sat down, I could have sworn I saw Gaara's head turn. Maybe it was my imagination.

"You look dead." Shikamaru muttered.

"I feel dead." My forehead collided with the desk.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shikamaru held his head in his hand. He didn't really look all that concerned.

Izumo-sensei cleared his throat and started rambling on about some book by some old dead guy.

"Not really." I turned up my head to stare at the back of Gaara's head, but my chin still rested on the desk. "I'm just so confused."

"That's talking about it."

I growled and turned to glare at Shikamaru. He was almost as bad as Kotetsu-sensei when it came to saying smart-ass crap. Shikamaru just shrugged off my miserable attempt at intimidating him.

I've really lost my touch.

Sighing, I focused back on Gaara.

"Does it have something to do with the new kid?" He yawned. He was even worse than me when it came to that.

"Yeah." I glanced back at Shikamaru. "I wanted to be his friend, but then Sakura-chan told me about that trial. She said to stay away from him. I get it, but it just feels… wrong."

Shikamaru nodded his head. "I have to agree with Sakura. That kid's not normal."

I glared. "I ain't exactly 'normal', either."

"You're not normal in the sense that you're crazy stupid. That kid… he's just crazy."

"Tch." All these people talking about Gaara like they know him.

I could feel Shikamaru analyzing me before sighing. It's like his eyes were dissecting me or something disgusting like that. "I could make you feel better about approaching him since you're so beaten up about it."

Immediately, I straightened up off the desk and stared at my friend with the poofy pony-tail. I nodded my head violently.

"Ok, ok. Calm down." He scratched the back of his head. "What a pain. You'll have to wait until lunch."

###

I was racing for the lunch room the moment third period ended. I don't know how Shikamaru was going to help, but he'd be the smartest guy I know if he weren't so lazy. If I had to trust anyone to solve a problem, it'd definitely be him.

"Hold it!" Someone gripped onto the back of my collar which stopped me in my tracks.

I looked back to see the principal. "What's up, old lady?"

Her eyes twitched at the nickname. "Well, I had wanted to thank you for helping with Gaara the other day, but I've got the sudden urge to send you to the disciplinary committee."

Ew. That stuck-up snob, Neji, was the head of the disciplinary committee. I mean, I haven't seen him since I beat the crap out of him in junior high, but… I don't expect it to be a… happy reunion. No… If she threw me over to them, they'd devour me – bones and all.

"No, no! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, err, pr-pretty lady…?"

She tossed me aside, letting me bang against the lockers a little too roughly. "I don't really understand why he didn't defend himself when I questioned him, but thankfully you did. His father would have had my head if I tried to punish him."

I rubbed my shoulder, which got most of the impact when the old lady threw me. Then, her words registered. That's Gaara. When those guys were picking on him, Gaara only got them out of the way. Then, he didn't even try to explain what happened to principal Tsunade. Couldn't have that been the case with his uncle? Maybe not exactly, but if it was self-defense… was it possible he just didn't try to explain it was self-defense? Maybe he just hardened himself… didn't let anyone see his emotions during the trial, and that's why it looked like he didn't care.

Damn it. Shikamaru's right. I am crazy stupid. But, Gaara… he isn't necessarily crazy. I should have known better. I've seen how quick people can judge a situation without knowing a single damn thing.

My hand brushed against my cheek.

What was I thinking? Letting rumors get to me. Letting people's stupid prejudgments discourage me. Probably no one, but Gaara really knows what happened. I'll find out the truth from him. Until I know without a doubt that Gaara's a bad person, he isn't one. Besides, didn't I decide I'd make him my friend? When the hell do I ever go back on my word!

"Naruto, you're being strangely quiet." Tsunade almost seemed concerned.

I shook away my thoughts at least for the moment. "Yeah. You just helped me remember something important. Thanks, old lady!" I grinned and ran off before she could hand me over on a platter to Neji.

When I got to the cafeteria, I quickly scanned the area for Shikamaru. He was already eating lunch in the corner of the room with Kiba and Chouji sitting in front of him. I jogged over and sat down next to him.

"Shi. Ka. Ma. Ru~!" I hugged my lazy buddy around the waist tightly.

"What the hell, Naruto? Aren't me and Chouji important to you?" Dog breath, Kiba, bent over the table to hit me over the head.

"Don't be jealous of Shika-chan's and my love!" I stuck my tongue out at Kiba, who returned the gesture right after.

Shikamaru just ignored us and continued picking at his meal.

I released Shikamaru from my grasp, and directed my hands to a much more important matter: Swiping food from Chouji.

His eyes were closed, savoring the chicken.

Now's my chance.

My hand crept over to his tray.

"HM?" A grunt from Chouji's, uhh, 'full' cheeks sounded.

My hands in my lap, I looked off into the distance innocently.

His eyes darted about in suspicion. "Hmmm," He hummed, while returning to the savory chicken, and slowly shutting his eyes to improve his sense of taste.

This time, I let my hand snake forward instead of creep. I didn't even have the chance to be choosey. I called it back quickly. What was my prize this time?

"CHIPS!" I grinned and opened up the bag.

A shame a bag of chips isn't an item you can quickly lick and claim. Chouji immediately stole it back from me. I frowned at him as he scooted down the table – far out of my reach.

Sighing, I turned my attention to Shikamaru with puppy eyes that could rival Akamaru's. Although, I guess it ain't much a competition, since I don't think anyone's even seen Akamaru's eyes.

Shikamaru also sighed and shoved the rest of his food over to me.

I jumped up and down in my seat giddily and dug into Shikamaru's mom's home-cooked meal. Ero-Sennin might be an OK cook, but nothing compares to a meal made with a mother's love thrown in.

"So, you still want to talk about the new kid?" Shikamaru rested his head up on his open palm.

"No~pe!" I grinned. "I figured it out for myself."

"What about the new kid?" Kiba blinked.

Shikamaru glanced at Kiba. "Naruto wants to be his friend."

"What the hell? You wanna get killed?"

"Why would I be killed? Don't be stupid, dog breath." I finished the last of Shikamaru's lunch and patted my belly in sweet satisfaction.

Still want those damn chips, though.

Kiba was slack-jawed. "'Why'? 'WHY'? IF YOU DON'T KNOW, THEN YOU'RE THE STUPID ONE!"

"NO, PEOPLE WHO TALK CRAP ARE THE STUPID ONES!"

"FINE! YOU WANNA DIE, THEN I'LL KILL YA RIGHT NOW! 'LEAST I'LL MAKE IT QUICK AND PAINLESS!"

"YOU COULDN'T EVEN WIPE YOUR OWN ASS WITHOUT AKAMARU'S HELP, BUT YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME?"

At this point, Kiba and I were both standing on top of the table, grabbing onto each other's shirts, and grinding against each other's foreheads. Everyone in the cafeteria was staring, except Shikamaru. He was taking nap. Oh, and Chouji. He was still savoring that chicken.

###

"Violence, vulgar language, death threats, excessive noise, and damage to school property: What do you have to say for yourselves?" Old lady Tsunade stared at Kiba and me with boredom.

"What violence? Damn security pulled us away before we could do anything." Kiba bared his fangs.

"And, what damage? We just stood on the tables. Everyone's making stuff up outta nowhere." I crossed my arms and glared at the nearby wall. What an ugly shade of brown.

Tsunade groaned and leaned forward on her desk. "Clean-up duty during lunch for two weeks. You'll have ten minutes to eat, and that's it."

"WHAT?" Kiba and I both stood from our chairs.

A yellow eyebrow rose, she was daring us to challenge her. We quickly and quietly sat back down.

"Yes, sir:" Was spoken in unison.

A vein appeared on her forehead. "FOR A MONTH!"

###


	4. Chapter 4: Sunflowers and Cacti

.

Gaara

Chapter 4 "Sunflowers and Cacti"

June 27; Monday

It seemed that I successfully deterred the blond from interacting with me. Although he still stared at me when given the opportunity, he did not approach or speak to me. He even avoided sitting near me during Literature. I felt a sense of… relief, I believe. Yes. If he stays away, then the urge to prove my existence will also stay away. As long as everyone stays away, just as they always have, I will eventually escape from my father.

I entered my final class, Biology. The blond had yet to arrive, but he was typically late to the classes we shared. No, I shouldn't even notice. His tardiness had nothing to do with me. I took my assigned seat in this class in the middle row and the column nearest to the door.

Perhaps, it wasn't only relief. The… feeling was also rather unsettling. Why do I feel unsettled? I do not feel anything, except the urge, and yet… The blond has finally arrived. 'Finally'? I wasn't waiting for him. Foolishness. He also sat in the middle row but in the middle column. I shut my eyes and exiled the blond from my thoughts.

"All right. We've gone over the basics of plant care, so the time has finally come. I know you all just couldn't wait for this moment, right?" Yamato, the teacher, smiled and appeared to be waiting for some kind of response. When he received none, his eyebrow and the corner of his lips began to twitch. "_Riiiiiight?_"

"YES, YAMATO-SENSEI!"

Apparently satisfied, his expression relaxed. "So then, let's get you all in pairs for the final project." Yamato unraveled a large poster about a developing flower. "You'll be working together for the rest of the school year growing and caring for a plant of your choice. Each month, there will be a report due along with a picture of you and your plant." He began passing papers back with details for the assignment.

The blond raised his hand and waved it about frantically. "I WANT GAARA AS MY PARTNER, Y'KNOW!"

What?

"Hah?" It seemed the rest of the class shared my sentiment.

"That's all well and good, Naruto, but I don't care who you choose as your partner as long as you turn in the slip with both your names on it."

"Roger!" Naruto saluted.

This incompetent blond. I may very well wind up using him to validate my existence.

Yamato exhaled a breath. "You may get up and pick your partners and discuss your plans for the rest of the period. Feel free to ask me any questions."

The blond stood and waltzed over to me. Like a mouse to a snake. For the first time, I wished someone would approach me and request me to be their partner. I simply could not tolerate this boy. Yet, there he was taking a recently evacuated seat next to me and smiling like the fool he was.

"Sorry about second period! I shouldn't have blown you off like that." He rubbed the back of his head.

No, that's exactly what you should have done, and you should have done it again, yet here you are.

"Heh, figures you wouldn't forgive me easily. Are you the grudge-holding type?" He blinked, but then smiled again. "Haha, that glare says, 'yes'."

I did not respond.

The blond glanced at the paperwork for the project. "So~, I'm thinking about an orange tree! What do you think?"

I glanced at his orange backpack. Was he infatuated with the color? He was also wearing a lot of it yesterday. I am grateful for the uniforms.

He was wearing the summer uniform: a white, short-sleeve dress shirt with the first few buttons undone, and it was not tucked into the black uniform pants. He never seemed to wear the navy blazer with the school's emblem nor the black and navy striped tie, but then those were not mandatory during the summer term.

"That would take too long. It's best to select a simple plant."

Naruto smirked. "I knew school would get you to talk."

I blinked at him.

###

June 28; Tuesday

Normally, the driver arrives to take me to the house. Yes, me. Temari and Kankuro are driven home before I am, so typically I am driven back alone. Typically. Yet it's Tuesday and I'm in the car as usual, but there's this noise… a voice echoing nonstop beside me.

"WOW! I can't believe you have your very own driver! Hey, Driver-san, to the nearest plant store, or whatever. Cheerio~!" The blond was shaking the car with his incessant bouncing about.

I was certain the driver hesitated before speaking, "…Is this correct, Sunano-sama?"

"'SAMA'! HE SAID 'SAMA'! THIS IS AMAZING, Y'KNOW!"

I withheld a sigh. "Yes."

The driver nodded and pulled out of the parking lot.

Yesterday, I had determined to simply complete this project on my own. However, Naruto threatened to report it to the teacher, and when I refused to believe he would – he did. Yamato made quite the disturbing expression although that isn't what made me agree to work with Naruto. I just couldn't get a failing grade, so I let it be. And now, here I am. With the loud blond I wish to cut open. I'm forced to withhold another sigh.

When we finally arrived at the store, the blond raced in ahead of me.

That's fine. My ears need a rest.

As I entered, I saw him examining a few sunflowers. They suited him. I shut my eyes and looked elsewhere.

"Is there something in particular you're looking for?" A female worker asked the blond.

"Umm, yes. An orange tr-"

"Something that is easy to grow." Had the blond not been listening when I told him, 'no' to that?

He grinned wildly at me. No, he heard. He just didn't agree with me.

The shop keeper took a few steps backwards. She hadn't taken note of my presence before and now she was wary. Not an unusual reaction.

"Ye-yes, well how about the sunflowers? They only bloom for a season and don't live after that."

"No. We need something that will last throughout the year." I didn't remove my stare from her.

"Ah-ahh, well, umm, you can just- the section over there has all plants that will live longer than three years and last indoors. Please, look at them… and-and I'll be back in a moment. Excuse me!" She bowed and ran off behind an employee's only door.

The blond shook his head in an attempt to reprimand me. "Jeez, Gaara! Don't give the poor girl a heart attack!" He shook his finger fervently, and then he laughed.

He always laughed. I was… unaccustomed to the sound of laughter, especially laughter directed at or caused by me. I turned away from the sunflower blond and over to the plants the shop keeper mentioned. 'Sunflower' blond? Yes, it indeed suited him. Although, that was unimportant.

The section had quite a bit of cacti. I allowed my fingers to linger over them, but they did not touch.

"Ooh! Cactuses!" Naruto grabbed a container with a slightly red tinted cactus and held it close to his face.

"Hehehe." He glanced over at me from behind the cactus. "Gaara is kinda like a cactus."

My brow rose at the comment.

"He's all prickly on the outside, but I'm pretty sure the inside is filled with gooey water or something."

Fantastic analogy.

"D-don't give me that look! I'm not good with words, but I know you get what I mean. It-it makes sense!" His cheeks became tinted with rising blood. I really wanted to slit them.

Actually, it appears they'd already been slit: Three times on either side. My gaze left his cheeks and to his eyes.

Who gave him those scars?

"G-Gaara?" He swallowed audibly. Why? Has he finally realized he should fear me?

I focused back on the plants, and I heard his breath of relief.

###

The sunflower blond was determined to grow a cactus for the project. He completely attached himself to the notion that I was similar to a cactus. However, we purchased a jade plant. It's still a succulent, like cacti, but it is not thorny, much to the boy's apparent dismay. Though, as soon as the shop keeper mentioned the jade plant was also known as the friendship plant, he quite literally flung himself at it and clasped onto the container with its cuttings resolutely. There was little discussion about how to care for it at that point. He made up his mind, and apparently that was the end of it.

We were back in the car, and Naruto rested the project in his lap.

I turned to the boy. "Where do you live?"

"Why? Let's go to your place."

I blinked. "Why?"

"So we can do some research together about Naga-chan!"

I blinked again.

Who?

The blond grinned and gestured to the project. "I was going to call her Gana-chan, but that sounded kinda weird. Naga-chan is cuter."

I looked at the seat in front of me. I had nothing to say to that.

"Yeah, so, Driver-san! TO GAARA-SAMA'S PLACE!" The blond pointed straight out at the window.

The driver glanced at me through the mirror, and I nodded my head. So be it.

"OH! I've an idea!" Naruto rummaged through his pockets and pulled out his cell phone.

He scooted closer to me and held the jade plant cuttings up between our heads. His arm held up his phone to reveal half of my face, the plant, and half of his face in the screen.

"SMILE!" He grinned and took the picture.

Naruto set the plant back on his lap, but he didn't move back over to his side of the car. He fiddled with his phone and examined the picture. He seemed to be satisfied with it and tried to show it to me, but I had little interest.

"Our first buddy pic!" He chuckled and put his phone away.

Bud…dy? Impossible. "It's only for the assignment."

He continued to grin. "Yeah, yeah."

Why was he sitting so close? Each and every time the car turned his knee came into contact with mine. It was unnerving, and I could not get any further away from him. Doesn't he notice?

"THE BEACH!" He leaned over me to stare out of my window.

There was the subtle scent of bergamot. He's much too close now. He turned his head to glance at me, and he smiled. I shut my eyes to gather my patience. I heard him shuffle back down into the seat. When I opened my eyes, I noticed he was back at his end of the car.

"Sorry. I don't really notice when I'm getting into other's bubbles." His eyes were downcast as he stared at the project.

Why? More importantly, why is it annoying me?

"I don't care." I did care. It was uncomfortable.

Well, my words returned the grin to his face – not that it mattered.

"We've arrived." The driver parked the car in the driveway.

Naruto and I let ourselves out. He ran up to the door and hopped up and down as he waited for me. I wasn't going to hurry, though.

"You're being too rough with the project." I set the key into the door and opened it.

The blond frowned and held the project up to my face. "Her name is NA-GA-CHA-N!"

I ignored him and entered the house. I hung the keys up on the hook next to the door and walked into the kitchen.

"You can set it on the table." I glanced over at the table near the kitchen in the dining room.

Naruto glowered and grumbled about my using 'it' to refer to the project under his breath as he did what I instructed. Afterwards, he glanced around the area.

"So, everyone's out?" He tilted his head. "Or, hiding in their rooms all quiet-like?"

"No." I began brewing a cup of coffee.

"Wait. So, you live in this gigantanormous house… alone?" His jaw was slack and his eyes wide.

I nodded. I suppose it really isn't a common circumstance.

"Wow, wow, wow! How's that even possible?" He ran around the dining room, and then over to the kitchen. "Then, it's true. You're loaded?"

I released a breath of air. "I am not. My father is."

"Isn't that, like, the same thing? You know. What's mine is yours?" He stared at me with skepticism.

"No. I am just another piece of his property." I poured the coffee into a mug.

Why is he nodding as if he understands? He doesn't understand.

I offered the blond the mug, but he shook his head to decline. I kept it for myself.

"I was adopted."

His words made me freeze. Why would he suddenly tell me that?

"My parents died when I was still baby, so a friend of my mom's took care of me for a few years." Naruto hoisted himself onto the counter to sit. "It was all right for the most part. But, he wasn't exactly a 'good' guy. He… he had a lot of enemies." His eyes were glazed as he stared at nothing in particular.

I cannot understand his need to tell me all of this. Did he somehow come to believe that I had wanted to know?

"Everyone… avoided me, hated me." He glanced over at me, and his eyes refocused, while his eyebrows rose. "Oh, man! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say all that depressing crap."

He was hated and avoided? "Why?"

"Uh." He was surprised. Understandable. I was also surprised. "Sorry, but let's stop talking about this." He jumped off the counter and went over to the project.

I followed him with my eyes. The urge is there, but I fortunately curbed it the other day. I should be able to wait for a while before it's necessary to do again even if the blond was here to rouse it. I finished off the coffee.

"Do you have a computer? We can look up how to take care of Naga-chan." He traced the rim of the container with his finger.

I was still intolerably curious.

###

**A/N:** Well, this is what I had to post for now. I'll probably update sometime this week. Thanks for reading so far! :)


	5. Chapter 5: The Beach

.

Naruto

Chapter 5 "The Beach"

July 7; Thursday

"Naruto?" Ero-Sennin poked his head out of his office door to look at me as I entered the three bedroom apartment. "You're still alive? Shoot. I already invited everyone to the funeral. What are we going to do about this?"

Ever since Gaara and I were assigned to take care of Naga-chan, I had been going to his house every day. By the time I came home Jiraiya had already fallen asleep or had gone out himself, usually the last one. It really had been awhile since we've talked. I felt a little guilty.

"I told you: I've got a year-long project going on! I'm at my partner's house taking care of Naga-chan."

"Hohoho~. I know what that means. Project, aye? Partner, aye? _Naga-chan, aye_?" He wiggled his white eyebrows all suggestively.

And there went my guilt, floating away.

I grimaced. "Don't be gross, ya old perv. My partner's a guy and Naga-chan is our plant that we have to take care of."

Jiraiya frowned. "I'm really disappointed in you. Where did I go wrong? You should be having endless one night stands, but instead you're spending all your time with some boy on a stupid plant." The old man crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Naga-chan isn't stupid, and I only have feelings for one girl!"

"Yeah? Well, where is she? All I see are your annoying friends: the stuck-up one, the lazy one, the fat one, the dirty one, the dog and his pet human. Where are the young ladies?"

"I DON'T BRING 'EM AROUND HERE SINCE ALL YOU'LL DO IS HIT ON 'EM AND GROSS 'EM OUT!" I tossed my backpack at him, but it was empty and so harmless. Besides, Ero-Sennin caught it and dropped it to the floor.

The pout on his old face, it was disgusting. "I resent that. The legal age isn't for another year or so. I wouldn't do a thing 'til, then."

I stared at him disbelievingly. He only fluttered his eyelids.

There's no talking to him.

Jiraiya walked over to me and placed a firm hand on my shoulder. "Anyway, when am I going to meet this new friend of yours?"

I grinned. "I don't know. He's kind of the silent, serious type, but I think he's getting used to me."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "So, you're constantly hanging around a person that doesn't even like you?"

"He-he likes me! He just… he just doesn't… know it… yet."

It was Jiraiya who was staring at me disbelievingly now.

"We're even going to the beach when I sleepover tomorrow! I mean, he doesn't know that yet either, but I'll definitely get him to go! And, get him to let me stay over. He lives alone, so I'm sure he'll LOVE my company." I huffed with my hands on my hips.

Ero-Sennin rolled his eyes and strolled back into his office to probably finish his manuscript or look at porn. "Take some alcohol with you. Maybe that'll loosen the brat up."

Hmm. I never really cared for alcohol, but a drunken Gaara? I think that could actually change my opinion. Gaara stumbling around and saying stupid stuff with a flushed face? Yes, yes. I really want to see it.

###

July 8; Friday

"Why are you here?" My redheaded pal stepped aside to let me inside his house.

"Oh, you tease! I know you're happy to see me." I winked and walked in.

He locked the door and followed me into his kitchen. I pulled out a black and gold box from my bag and set it on his dining table.

"What is that?"

I know Gaara is getting used to me. He's become so talkative. Although he mostly just asks questions, it's an improvement! Now it's questions and glares! I'm so proud of him.

"It's whiskey!" I grinned.

He blinked. "Why?"

"A sleepover isn't complete without some booze, y'know."

A non-existent brow rose. "What?"

"SURPRISE!" My arms were thrown into the air.

"No."

I frowned. "But- but-but, think about Naga-chan! She has separation anxiety! I have to be here for her, y'know!" My arms waved about.

Gaara gave no response. Figures. He refuses to 'joke'.

"Hey, let's go to the beach!" I hopped over to him. "We can bring Naga-chan for a family outing."

"No."

"Do you know how to swim?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a pair of trunks?"

Gaara paused for a moment before answering, "No."

I figured as much, considering he doesn't seem the type to like going out.

"Well, good thing I brought a pair for you!" I took out a pair of trunks from my bag and tossed them over to Gaara. "Now, go change into those and LET'S GO!" I grabbed my bag and ran into the restroom down the hall.

I came here early on purpose since Gaara doesn't like crowds. I'm sure hardly anyone would be at the beach early on a weekday. It's Friday, but we have no school because the school's holding an exhibit for the seniors. It's something about helping them to choose universities and careers, or whatever. Glad I don't have to worry about that for another two years.

I removed my jeans and boxers and slipped on my orange trunks with black and yellow seams and a white drawstring. I kept on my white shirt with thin, horizontal orange stripes. I stared in the mirror and ruffled my spiking hair a little bit before walking back into the dining room. Gaara wasn't standing there anymore.

Pulling out a chair, I waited for him. He's been a lot more agreeable with me lately, too. I just have to be kind of pushy, and he'll usually let me have my way. Gaara… is a good guy. I found myself smiling. I was really an idiot before.

Though, I was a little worried about coming over today. Yesterday, things were going really well, or at least I thought so, but he suddenly got angry and told me to leave. I brushed it off as he got a headache since he was holding on to his head, but I didn't really know if that was true because he also had that scary smile on his face for a second. It's OK now, though. Gaara seemed to be back to his usual self. I grinned. He's probably all giddy that I didn't hold his little tantrum against him! A giddy Gaara? I chuckled.

"What?"

I looked up to see Gaara. He was wearing a dark grey T-shirt and steel blue trunks with a white drawstring and seams. I never noticed before, but this is the first time seeing so much of Gaara's skin. He was always covered up from below the neck. He always wore long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and leather gloves. But, now I could see his arms, his legs, his hands - well his hands had bandage wrappings, though.

"It's nothing. Let's go!"

The walk to the beach was quick. It was hardly ten minutes away by foot. I was right, too; no one was even there except a few people far enough away that they looked like dots.

"BEACH, HO~!" I ran over to the sandy ground.

Gaara didn't run, though. Gaara never ran. While he took his time getting over here, I set one of my towels down near to the water. I stretched out on the yellow fabric and let the sun swallow me up.

"THIS FEELS GREAT!" Dusts of sand clouded as I launched back up once Gaara finally arrived.

Gaara sat down on the bare sand. He buried his feet into the warm grains, as well as his hands that propped him up. Then, he let himself lay down on the sand. He shifted his hands to sink into the ground on either side of him and his heels dug in deeper.

I raised a brow at this sight. Gaara looked like a grumpy cat rolling around in catnip. Well, there wasn't much rolling. It was more like a grumpy cat making a sand angel. Gaara could be really cute sometimes. At my laughter he sat up to glare at me. I just suppressed it and gave him an innocent smile with fluttering eyes.

Turning away with suspicion in his narrowed eyes, he grabbed his bag and pulled out some sunscreen. Yeah, he was really pale; he'd obviously burn. He set it down between his legs, and tossing his bag to the side, he drew the shirt over his head. Wow, Gaara was really slim. He was kind of girlish in that way. He rubbed the sunscreen all over his skin, but he couldn't really reach the middle of his back.

I crawled over to him. "Uhh, do you want some help?"

He shot me a very, very scary glare – the scariest one yet. I fell over and scurried back over to my towel.

"Ok, ok. No touchy! Got it." My teeth chattered until he dropped the glare and continued trying to reach the practically unreachable.

I sighed and looked out into the ocean. "So, how come you're always so covered up?"

Gaara tossed the bottle towards his bag. "It's always been that way."

"Are you… embarrassed or something?" I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "There's no need to be."

He glared at me.

I laughed a little. "Sorry. I check out all my friends."

"Why?"

I blinked. "Because... I don't know. Most people do. I think to compare themselves or something."

"Foolish."

"What's foolish?"

"I don't really care." Gaara let himself fall back into the sand.

So… he's not embarrassed? "Then, how come?"

He turned his head to face me; grains of sand were clinging to his cheek. "It is a habit that was instilled in me. I often… fought, so more clothing helped."

I snorted. Clothing couldn't protect much, but I guess I understood. The gloves in particular would probably be kind of nice when punching someone in the face. That can really hurt a guy's knuckles. I flexed my hands at the memories of the pain they've received over the years. Poor fists.

"OH NO!" My hands covered over my ears.

Sitting up, Gaara waited for an explanation about my outburst.

"We-we….I-I can't believe… we…." I shook my head about violently.

He was still waiting patiently.

I turned to him with a look of horror on my face. "WE FORGOT NAGA-CHAN AT HOME!"

Gaara blinked. My eyes shut closed with my grin until I felt a gritty impact against my face. I opened my eyes and instantly regretted it.

"AHH! AHH! SAND! I'VE SAND IN MY EYES!" I jumped to my feet and ran towards the sound of crashing water.

"WAHH! CO~LD!" The freezing water wasn't nearly as painful as the sand, so I dove in anyway and rubbed my face with the ocean water.

Coming back up to the surface, I tried to open my eyes again. "AHH! SALT WATER IN MY EYES! AHHH~!"

I continued to scream as well as rub and blink my eyes furiously until the burning faded. Finally being able to see again, I searched for the culprit. Gaara sat there, and his lips were curved up in a satisfied smirk.

"YOU SADISTIC BASTARD!" I raced out of the water to bring Gaara up off the ground and into my arms.

Before his fist could smash my skull open, I hurled him in to the water. It was surprisingly easy. I stood with my legs spread apart and my arms folded in victory. When he returned to the surface, only his nose up was visible, and his thick eyeliner was running like crazy. He looked like a creepy, freakin' shark! He started to swim toward me, and I swore that I could hear the Jaws' theme blasting in my ears.

"Shit!" I tried to run, but he grabbed onto my ankles and pulled me forcefully. I landed flat against the water which stung like hell!

The rest of our time at the beach was spent trying to drown one another.

Gaara almost won.

Twice.

It was a lot of fun.

###


	6. Chapter 6: The Sun

.

Gaara

Chapter 6 "The Sun"

July 8; Friday

I had just finished taking a shower and was currently working on a history assignment at my desk. I heard my bedroom door creak open, footsteps along my floor, and shuffling on my bed. I spun my desk chair around to face Naruto. He was sitting cross-legged on the edge of my bed with a crooked smile on his face.

"That is my bed," I informed him.

"Hehe, I know!" He bounced a bit. "Can we have some of the whiskey now?"

"No."

I turned away from him and back to the assignment laid out on my desk. The blond remained quiet. I could feel his stare. I recalled the first time he came to my house. He had mentioned a bit about his past. He never brought it up after that, and I was still curious about it. I had attempted to bring it up again once before, but he instantly changed the subject.

I couldn't focus on the passages in the textbook anymore. I set my pencil down and turned my chair back around to face the sunflower blond. Silently, I stared at him for a while. He simply blinked and raised a single blond eyebrow.

"Why… were you resented?"

Blue eyes widened slightly, but they closed soon after and a breath was released. "Could I… ask you about something first?"

"Fine."

"You-you don't have to answer. I would totally understand if you don't… The past can be a hard thing to talk about and all."

I withheld a sigh. "I don't care. I'll answer."

He drew in a deep breath and his cheeks became inflated. "Why did you k-…" He shook his head. "How did your uncle die?"

I didn't respond, and I just stared at the blond. I hadn't expected him to ask about that. No one asks about that – no one questions me about anything. Considering his constant choice to be around me, I half expected that he never heard about it.

He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I know it's… sorry."

My eyes shut in concentration. "It is a long story."

I reopened them to see that Naruto's eyes were once again wide before he nodded. It was an understandable reaction. The majority of murderers usually decide to withhold such information.

"When I was born, I killed my mother. That was what started it all. My primary care-taker was my uncle, Yashamaru, since my father kept me isolated from himself and my older siblings-"

"You have siblings?!" His mouth was agape.

I nodded and continued. "Are you aware of my father's business?"

"Not exactly. Just that he's a CEO, I think."

"Yes. He's in control of a security firm with multiple subgroups. Particularly, security technology, investigations, and an…," I glanced to the side, "a security force."

"What? Like… body guards?" He frowned and knotted his eyebrows.

"No." I crossed my arms. "Temari, my sister, is expected to take over the investigative section, Kamaitachi. Kankuro, my brother, is supposed to take over Kurohigi, the technological section. I was to take over the security force, or Shukaku."

"So, you each get a portion of the business when you're old enough?" Naruto folded his arms and curtly nodded his head twice.

"That was his plan. My father had high expectations of me. From when I was old enough to walk he had me taught to fight. I had to become strong enough to handle Shukaku. Violence was something ordinary to me. I had little aversion to it, and it held no negative connotations. On a typical day, the only people I had contact with were Yashamaru, my uncle, and whoever was training me for the time. Rarely, I was given time away from the fighting. Once, however, Yashamaru had given me permission to be around the neighbors' children. They accepted me willingly, and even asked what I wished to play." I leaned back in the chair.

Naruto leaned forward. He was listening intently.

I could feel my lips tug upward. "'Play'? I didn't understand such a concept. I simply told them what I did most days. They were quite excited when I told them I fought. So, we played fighting. But, I never fought anyone inexperienced before and was never taught restraint. It wasn't until they were crying, covered in blood, and lying defenselessly on the ground when I realized I had to stop."

Naruto shifted his elbows to rest on his knees, and his hands cupped over his nose and mouth. Blue eyes were giving me their absolute attention, and I continued.

"My father assured none of the parents ever told the authorities. It did not stop them from discussing the event, however. The children cowered from me after that. The adults stared at me with loathing. For some reason my chest… ached. I asked Yashamaru about what I should do. I had to apologize – that was my medicine. It was moot, however. No one would answer their door for me, and I was never allowed to approach them. I started to detest them in return.

"A few nights later, I went to the beach alone. Simply to think, but then there was a presence behind me. I felt their intent to kill, and when a dagger was thrown I caught it. I turned around, but the assailant was masked. 'Why? Why must I be so hated? Why did my father have to instill violence into me? Why did I have to be resented because he wanted me to be his tool?' I detested him most of all. I took all of my frustration and hatred for him out on what I thought to be another one of his subordinates attempting to 'train' me. I never intended to kill him. I didn't even truly understand death. But, I did. I stabbed him over, and over, and over again. There was blood everywhere.

"He started to mumble, and that was when I stopped myself. I tore the mask from his face, and there was Yashamaru. I was so confused. He told me, 'your father asked me to kill you. You failed when you attacked those children.' This satisfied me because at least the only person I…- He didn't want me dead. But, he told me I was wrong. I took away his sister. He accepted the request with open arms. He only raised me for my father's sake. He said he tried to love me, but it was impossible. He couldn't even touch me because the very thought of it was repulsive… I screamed out, cried out. Then, the neighbors appeared. My father could not protect my actions from the sights of the law any longer."

"A-and, that's when… the trial happened?"

"Yes. My father prevented me from being incarcerated since it could have led to his unconventional training methods being exposed to the public. However, I didn't care whether I was imprisoned or killed. It didn't matter to me anymore. Nothing matters anymore."

Naruto was silent. I was silent. I had never told anyone the story before. No one ever asked after the trial. They all believed it was obvious. I was a sociopathic murderer. And, they weren't wrong.

"Gaara… I…" He didn't know what to say, where to look, or how to move.

That was fine. I just watched every perturbed movement.

His hands rubbed over his face before resting over his mouth and cupping his chin again. His blue eyes stared at me. I did nothing, but stare back. He glanced at the floor before standing from the bed. He walked toward me and sat down by my feet. He looked back up at my face. I continued to watch him. He swallowed audibly – no sound was hidden in this quiet, and he hesitantly reached for my gloved hand. When he grabbed on to it, I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened. His fingers pinched the tip the gloves and slid it off of my hand. The leather was dropped to the ground. Naruto's hands began to encircle mine. Again, I tried to pull away, but, again, his hands tightened.

His eyes focused intently on me. "I won't hurt you."

It was strange: this touch. Before Naruto, the only sensation from another person that I can remember was always overflowing with blood or hatred or both. This feeling was different from that. Why? Why were drops of liquid falling on to his cheeks? Did they belong to him?

Did they belong to me?

The blond stood with one hand still grasping my thinly bandaged, exposed hand. His free hand wrapped around the back of my neck and held me against his chest.

"You're not repulsive." His thumbs ran softly over my skin. "You're not bad. It wasn't your fault."

My gloved hand grasped onto his shirt. My forehead pressed harder against him. Small pools formed on the wooden floor.

"You're not alone anymore." His forehead rested on the top of my head. I could feel pools forming on my scalp. "You're my friend, Gaara, and I'm yours."

Friend? Is this what friendship felt like?

It's warm.

It felt like the sun.

He… felt like the sun.

###


	7. Chapter 7: Let Go

.

Naruto

Chapter 7 "Let Go"

July 9; Saturday

The first thing I saw when I woke up was the sunlight shining through the window. I blinked and squeezed my eyes until they adjusted, and then they refocused on the sea green eyes in front of me.

"How long have you," I yawned, "been awake?"

"5 hours."

My eyebrows knitted. "The hell?" Was that his idea of a joke?

I soon forgot about Gaara's weird statement when I realized my hand was still holding on to his at the center of the bed. Holy crap! How embarrassing. How could I fall asleep holding another guy's hand? I looked back at the redhead and remembered last night. Well, I guess in that situation it was all right. Gaara released my hand and sat up on the bed. I did the same, but a sharp pain struck through my body.

"You are a poor sleeper." Gaara muttered and stood from the bed.

The pain was definitely coming from somewhere around my belly. I lifted up my shirt to see a giant, reddish bruise over the side of my stomach, above my hip. It was about the size of my palm and was real damn ugly to look at.

"What the…" I looked over at Gaara, then back at the bruise, then Gaara, and then the bruise again. My eyes widened once I processed the situation. "SO, YOU PUNCHED ME?"

He blinked. "You tried to punch me."

"I DIDN'T _TRY_ TO DO ANYTHING! I WAS ASLEEP!" I poked the bruise and winced. I glared over in Gaara's direction. "Besides, if I was sleeping so~ badly you should have just let go and gotten up."

"I didn't want to." How did he say something so embarrassing in such a matter-of-fact way?

My gaze dropped to the side of the room away from Gaara. "I-I see…"

Gaara said nothing. He walked around his bed and left the room.

I poked the bruise again, and it still really hurt. Damn it. I fell back into his bed. Staring up at the ceiling, I noticed it was kind of a greyish white. It wasn't smooth. There were inconsistent bulges that added visible texture.

I sighed. I just couldn't believe everything Gaara said yesterday, let alone the fact that he actually said any of it. But, I could understand him now. Everything made sense. Gaara never had anyone that really cared about him. I was also alone once, but eventually even I developed relationships with others. While Gaara remained completely alone. If not for Ero-sennin, Sasuke, Kiba and the rest… I would have grown bitter about people and the world, too.

The door swung open, and Gaara came back in with an ice pack in hand. I smiled at him, while lifting my shirt to reveal the bruise. He walked toward me and let the icepack hover above the bruise for a moment. Then, he just dropped it.

"OW!" I cringed. "Ow, ow, ow!" Clenching my fists, I tried not to let myself smack the freezing object away.

I looked back up at Gaara and caught his lingering smirk. Oh, he was so proud of himself. He was like a cat bragging about the dead bird he just dragged in. Sadistic bastard.

Taking deep breaths, I eventually adapted to the freezing pack as it numbed my bruise. I held onto it and sat myself up against the bed's ebony headboard. Gaara was sitting back in his computer chair and looking through his textbook. He'll always be such a nerd.

"Hey."

He turned his head toward me.

"I promised a few friends to hang out later today. It's Kiba's late birthday party, and Sasuke is going to stay over my house tonight. Want to come along? We can squeeze."

He focused back on the history book. "No."

Well, I should have guessed that'd be his answer.

My eyes caught a glimpse of his single, ungloved hand. "Do you want me to cancel, so we can play for the rest of the weekend?"

Gaara leaned back in the chair and stared at the wall for a moment. It actually made me happy that he was even considering having me stay instead of automatically saying, 'no'.

He looked back down at the book. "No."

Well, I was still happy that he even considered it.

###

Shino was sulking in the corner of my living room. He found out I invited everyone over last time, and he hadn't heard about it. Honestly, I kind of just forgot. This year we had zero classes together, including lunch, which is when I normally asked anyone to hang out. That explanation was just swatted away by him, though.

According to that bug-lover, "a true friend should remember to invite another friend. If you ask why, it's because if he doesn't, the friend who was forgotten will feel badly. He'd feel like he wasn't really a part of the swarm. All friends swarm together – come hell or high water. Friends are never forgotten."

Trying to get his forgiveness was way too draining, so I eventually got annoyed and continued whooping Sasuke's ass, along with Kiba, at GATSUGA on my VIE. Kiba didn't even budge to help with Shino.

According to him, "ain't no point. He'll be whining about this for the next year. Just ignore- BOOM, PRETTY BOY! TAKE THAT!" He got distracted with blowing Sasuke's head off, but I didn't miss his point.

I tried to explain to Kiba that ignoring Shino was what put him there in the first place. Kiba cared very little if at all and continued slaughtering Sasuke's character. That is Shino's best friend. Well, besides his creepy, gross bug collection.

We gamers, and Akamaru, were forced to sit on the floor since Shikamaru was holding the couch we were leaning against captive for the length of his nap. I'm not really sure why he bothered to come over. I think, he said something about avoiding his mom's nagging, or something.

There was one other seat available in the living room: my orange bean bag, but Chouji was on it and munching on some chips. I'm pretty sure he only comes over for my food. I'm going to steal those damn chips. I chopped off Sasuke's arms, so he was running around like a headless, or in this case wingless, chicken to avoid Kiba's finishing blow. I set the controller down on the ground and crawled toward the feasting Chou.

My shoulders wiggled as I prepared to pounce on my prey. The moment his mouth opened to introduce a new, full, crisp chip, I leaped into the air above him. His eyes peered open, and his fist flew forward. It collided into my already injured stomach and sent me flying backwards.

"Ow… Shit…" I twitched and wriggled on the floor. My body was paralyzed with pain.

"Naruto?" Chouji leaned over me. "Are you ok?"

He never really intentionally attacked someone because they were after his food. It was really just a reflex he couldn't help, and he was always concerned about his victims afterwards.

Sasuke came over next. "You're down from one punch?"

"Chouji's never knocked Naruto down like that before." Shikamaru yawned.

Kiba pointed and laughed. "I can't believe this! You're pathetic!"

"No, Chouji's punch is nothing. It's Gaara's that hurts like hell." I pulled up my shirt to see how much uglier my bruise must have gotten. It didn't look all that different, but God damn, the pain was back and throbbing.

"Holy hell! THAT PSYCHO ATTACKED YOU?" Kiba wasn't laughing anymore.

Oops. I forgot that everyone had misunderstandings about Gaara.

"No, he was just messing around." I winced as I forced myself to sit back up.

Kiba lifted me off the ground by the front of my collar and forced our foreheads together. "Don't start this bullshit again. HE GAVE YOU A GIANT ASS BRUISE! YOU, WHO CAN GET A FREAKIN' BOULDER THROWN AT 'IM AND BE FINE!"

My eyes narrowed into a glare. "Shut up, and let go of me."

His grip only tightened. "He wasn't 'messing around'. HE WANTED TO _KILL_ YOU!"

Rolling my eyes, I brought my hands up and knocked Kiba's grip away. He was taller than me, so I stumbled back slightly. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about." I steadied my stance and hardened my eyes. "So, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"What else is there to know? That freak's a fucking murderer."

My fists balled up, and my right one lurched forward. The force sent Kiba crashing into the coffee table, and it broke under him. Standing back up, he wiped the blood dripping down his chin with the back of his hand and lunged forward. He tackled me down onto the couch and it tumbled backwards, along with Shikamaru who couldn't get away in time.

I was about to send another fist at Kiba, but Shikamaru was grappling me from below. His arms forced mine back and his legs wrapped around my thighs. I continued to struggle against him and almost got out of his grip, but Sasuke started to help in stopping me from beating the crap out of that dog-breathed asshole, who was being pulled off of me by Shino and Chouji. Akamaru was biting his jacket and helping them out. At least, his dog had some brains.

"What's going on here?" Jiraiya stepped in to the middle of the conflict.

"The married couple's having a bit of a squabble," Shikamaru bit out while struggling to keep me from escaping.

Jiraiya surveyed the room. Both Kiba and I were still glaring daggers and growling at one another, and our classmates were using all their strength to keep us apart.

Ero-Sennin sighed and set his hands on his hips. "Naruto, I hope you know you're paying for the coffee table."

"I DON'T FREAKIN' CARE AS LONG AS I CAN PAY FOR THIS ASSHOLE'S FUNERAL!"

Jiraiya raised a skeptical eyebrow. "It's fine to send him to his funeral, but why in the world would you pay for it?"

"Uhh, I don't mean to be rude, but Naruto is a lot stronger than I am. Would you mind figuring out how to stop him?" Shikamaru's grip was slackening.

If not for this bastard, Sasuke, I'd already be standing over the asshole's dead body. Sasuke's probably the only person capable of holding me down like this. Damn it!

"Oh, right. Yes, of course, of course." Smiling like an idiot, Ero-Sennin strolled over to the couch.

He pulled Sasuke away from me by the back of his collar. I took that chance to break away from Shikamaru and charge forward only to have Jiraiya's hand slam against the center of my gut. The impact made my eyes feel like they were popping out of their sockets. He moved his hand away, and I landed face first onto the wooden floor. Saliva leaked down my chin and dripped onto the ground.

I blacked out.

###

I woke up inside my bedroom. I was on my bed, lying on my side. Sasuke was sleeping on a futon nearby on the floor with his back turned to me. My stomach didn't hurt as much as before, but it was still sore and achy. Massaging it a bit, I groaned. Sasuke stirred and turned onto his other side to face me. He was always such an annoyingly light sleeper. No one could ever play pranks on him in his sleep.

I glared at him. "Why the hell did you get in my way?"

Sasuke rolled his black eyes and sat up from the futon. He crossed his legs and leaned back on his hands. "You were about to kill Kiba, loser."

"What the hell are you talking about? Kiba and I fight all the time." Facing Sasuke, I sat up and leaned against my wall.

"You blacked out."

"That was Ero-Senn-"

"No, you blacked out with anger. I haven't seen you like that in a long time. You really might have killed Kiba. When you get like that, you can't even control yourself, let alone can anyone else. We had to stop you before it escalated any further."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Stop being such a drama queen. It wasn't that big a deal."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Kiba's jaw got dislocated, Shikamaru has bruises all over from your thrashing, and you even tried to give me a black eye. Where's the exaggeration?"

It couldn't have been that bad. I don't remember doing anything so harsh. I shifted and a pain shot through. Then again, Ero-Sennin wouldn't have knocked me out if the situation wasn't serious. Shit. I'm becoming more and more like-

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice brought me out of my thoughts, "why did you get so pissed? Kiba didn't do anything, and you hit him."

My brows knotted at the stupid comment. "Didn't do ANYTHING? The asshole was talking crap about Gaara!"

"He said the truth."

I scoffed. Everyone thinks they know everything. "Truth? None of you bastards know the truth!"

He shifted his arms to cross them over his chest. "And, you do?"

"YEAH! Gaara told me everything."

"And, how do you know it wasn't all lies?"

"Gaara has no reason to lie to me." I crossed my arms and twisted my head away from the bastard.

"Feh." He rubbed his temples and stood to his feet. "He _murdered_ someone, idiot. He has _every _reason to lie."

I glared back into Sasuke's black eyes. "It was self-defense."

"Have you even taken a look at the trial footage? He slaughtered his own flesh and blood. When they displayed the images of the victim, he grinned. _Grinned_. Does that sound like someone who was forced to kill their uncle for self-defense?"

Gaara did have the tendency to show those creepy smiles of his. I don't really know why, but I know he shows and feels his emotions in a different way from other people. And, obviously he would with the way his father raised him. "I know Gaara's a little weirdo, but he's not a bad person-"

Sasuke face-palmed. "Are you even listening to yourself?"

"I AM, YOU BASTARD! You're just getting all pissy because he killed a family member. You're bias-" I forced myself to stop. Damn it. I need to think before I open my big ass mouth. "Sasuke, I shouldn't have said that. That was my bad." I clenched my eyes closed in anticipation of the punch that was certain to come.

But, it didn't come. Instead, I heard the bed squeak and felt it sink. My eyes reopened and I looked at Sasuke who sat next to me against the wall.

"I wanted to tell you something. It's the reason why I asked to stay over." His eyes were glazed over as he stared at the wall in front of us. "They found him."

What? Him? As in… _him_? "S-so staying with that creep actually paid off?"

"Yeah." Sasuke turned his head to look at me. His eyes softened and there was a slight smile at the corners of his lips. "Orochimaru found Itachi."

###


	8. Chapter 8: Odd

.

Gaara

Chapter 8 "Odd"

July 11; Monday

Naruto never did answer my question. He hadn't really specified when he'd explain, but he had implied that if I told him about Yashamaru that he'd answer me. I suppose when he comes over today to work on the project he can explain.

The bell hadn't rung yet, but the blond entered the classroom. He nodded to me and smiled in greeting. I did not react to it. He didn't appear to mind.

I became much more interested about Naruto's past after I informed him about some of mine. The way he reacted was atypical after all. The blond himself was an atypical existence. He had always been an oddity. What's changed now is that I find myself wanting to know why. My curiosity no longer irritates me, but it is uncomfortable. It is unfamiliar.

As he headed to his seat, he pushed the face of the boy that sits next him to the side with a smile. The boy glared, as did a few of the female classmates, at Naruto and muttered something that I could not hear. Whatever it was, the blond laughed it off and said something in return.

Naruto claimed to have been hated and avoided. However, every day he proves that's no longer the case. It perplexes me. Was he lying when he said those things? I couldn't understand how he could have been treated as I have, but changed his circumstances into ones such as this. How? Why can he still smile? Why can he still care for others? It perplexes me.

The bell rang and the history teacher with the scar along the bridge of his nose began the lecture. Thoughts of the sunflower blond were blocked, and I focused solely on writing the words of the teacher down on paper.

###

At the end of sixth period, Naruto approached me as he normally did. He took a seat in the desk next to me.

He half-smiled. It wasn't an expression that suited him. "I won't be coming to hangout this week."

"Why?"

The blond scratched the back of his head. "I kind of broke the table at my place. Ero-Sennin's making me use my body to pay it off-" He thought to himself for a second, "Well, that came out wrong. What I meant is that I'll be his maid for the rest of the week. You know, like, cleaning, cooking, reading his smut, and buying him porn."

"Aren't you underage?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I never expected you'd ever know what porn is!" His eyes blinked furiously. "Is this some kind of alternate universe?" He slammed his hands on the desk and darted his eyes about the room.

I didn't respond and continued answering the homework problems for math. I heard him sit back down, and I saw his grin from the corner of my eye.

"Don't worry. I won't get in trouble. I know how to get things." He winked. "So~, uhh…, what kind do you like?"

"Of what?"

His cheeks tinted red. "P-porn."

I didn't particularly care for the current topic, even more so since the blood flowing to his face was bringing mine to a simmer.

I shut my eyes for a moment to regain composure. "How's the bruise?"

Blue eyes looked away from me. "Umm, it's… different."

My brow rose. Naruto sheepishly chuckled. Standing back up, he lifted up his shirt. The bruise I had given him was still there above his left hip, but it was beginning to turn a purple shade. What was surprising, though, were the five small, new ones surrounding his navel. I looked back up at the blond in question.

"I got into a little argument with my friend, Kiba - that's how the coffee table broke. Ero-Sennin stopped me, and that's where the new bruises came from." He released his shirt and returned to the seat. "He never goes easy on me."

Never? So, did he give Naruto his scars? My eyes narrowed. "Does he do this often?"

I don't know why, but the blond started to laugh. After it calmed, he stared at me with odd eyes. I didn't really know how to interpret them.

"You don't need to worry about that. He's a good guy. It's just that I can be a little hard to handle when I'm mad, so sometimes there ain't any other choice." Naruto shrugged, and there was a smile. "Thanks for worrying, though. I appreciate it, Gaara."

"It was only a question. There's no need for gratitude." I blinked.

His smile lengthened, and his eyes became all the more inscrutable. "Yeah."

###

The odd part of returning to the house without Naruto was that it shouldn't be odd, and yet it was. The drive was silent, as my typical preference, but it was uncomfortable. It seems that the oddity forces everything around him to become odd. He's tainted everything near me and me.

Once the driver neared the house, I noticed another vehicle in the driveway. It was Baki's. I had been wondering where he disappeared to, but I had not missed his presence.

He greeted me upon my entrance. "I've been waiting here for over an hour. Waiting for the driver to drive Temari and Kankuro seems wasteful. I'll set up a new driver for you."

"That's unnecessary." I hung the key on the hook and headed for the kitchen. "Why have you returned?"

Baki followed behind me. "The appropriate question is, 'where have I been'."

I didn't respond to his statement. Instead, I focused on preparing a cup of coffee.

There was a sigh from Baki. "Looks as though the schooling hasn't helped much."

I stared at him from the corner of my eye. I hadn't been told why I was being sent to school. After 16 years of being taught privately, my father suddenly decided to enroll me. Why?

"What?"

"Your father was hoping to improve your social etiquette. If you're going to handle Shukaku, you need to learn how to get along with others or at least know how to pretend."

Of course it was just another experiment, but I never expected it to be so foolish and trite. Besides, was it not him that isolated me from the rest of the world? Had he finally lost his mind? I could certainly hope so. No, most likely there's something else that I am not being made aware of.

The sound of metal lightly entered my ears. I heard it cut through the air. I turned my head and lifted my hand to catch a knife by the blade between my fingers. I glared at Baki and returned his gesture in full. He caught the knife by its handle and placed it back into the stand.

"It is good to know that time does not rust you." He exited from sight.

I was pouring the coffee into a mug when Baki returned with a white envelope in hand.

"Your monthly allowance along with last month's share." He set the envelope on the counter. "As you know, if you need more, contact me."

I continued to drink my coffee in silence. I didn't need any more money. In that envelope was about half a year's worth for a typical human being.

"Your training will resume as soon as we find someone at your level." With that, Baki took his leave and I finished the last of the black coffee.

Training? Hardly.

They were searching for someone strong enough to kill me under the guise of training. So be it. I will not cease to exist. If they find someone strong enough, I'll use him to prove it. I will never disappear.

###


	9. Chapter 9: What Friends Do

.

Naruto

Chapter 9 "What Friends Do"

July 15; Friday

I was already excited about finally getting to hang out with Gaara again. But now, I was even happier because for the first time in my entire life a girl asked me on a date. And, it wasn't just any date. It was to the summer dance next Friday. And the cherry on top of the sundae, it wasn't just any girl. No, no, no. It was…

"Get those hearts out of your eyes, Naruto!" The pink-haired, scary princess whacked me over the head with her dainty fists.

"But, but, but SAKURA-CHAN~! I had no idea you felt so strongly about me-"

She gave me another hard punch. "Listen. The only reason I'm asking you of all people is because Sasuke isn't going because of kendo practice, and the only guy that's asked me is Rock Lee… and-and I just CAN'T show up with him. At least, you have reasonably shaped eyebrows."

"All I heard was," I cleared my throat and spoke with the highest, girliest pitch I could manage, "_'Naruto-ku~n, I-I've always felt toward you,'_" I giggled girlishly, "_'feelings that I tried to push onto that bastard, Sasuke, because… well, I'm so shy-'_ OW!"

I was going to have about a dozen bumps on my head by the end of this conversation.

"If you don't stop, I'll just go alone! Yes, it'll be totally humiliating for me, but at this point I can't tell if that or you are worse." Sakura groaned and heaved her body over with exasperation.

I saluted to Sakura-chan. "Understood, ma'am! Uzumaki, Naruto will be in tiptop shape for the ball."

She mumbled something about, 'regretting this later' and staggered off to first period. Humming like a schoolgirl, I pretty much skipped into the classroom, and I didn't give a damn about who saw! Which was everyone. Because I was late. Iruka-sensei added to my throbbing bump collection. Sakura's face was buried in her hands. I was still giggling girlishly.

###

"Driver-san, to Gaara-sama's!" I exclaimed as I normally did whenever I got into Gaara's car.

"It's been awhile, Uzumaki-sama." The driver nodded his head in greeting to me. He only said Gaara's name as a greeting. It made me a little disappointed.

"Naga-chan will be so surprised to see me! I hope she wasn't too sad while I've been gone. Did Gaara give her my share of attention?" I stared at the redhead with pleading eyes, but he didn't respond.

The rest of the car ride I bragged about my date with Sakura-chan next week. Gaara really didn't have much to comment on, but he didn't seem to mind my talking. He's never told me to be quiet before.

As soon as we arrived, I jumped out of the car and ran up to his door. Yep. I really missed this. I watched Gaara take his sweet time over. So stubborn. He opened the door, and I hopped along inside to the kitchen, where he'd no doubt make a cup of coffee before anything else. Gaara was taking too long, so I started the process for him by filling up the container with water. He came in before I finished, so I handed it over to him.

I made my way over to the dining table and took a seat there. Then, I noticed the whiskey I had brought over last weekend was still there. I glanced over at Gaara and then back at the whiskey. Smirking, I went back into the kitchen to pull out two glasses. Gaara raised an invisible brow at the action and carefully watched me. After setting the glasses on the counter, I poured a little of the whiskey into them.

Gaara blinked at me. "No."

I pouted. "C'mon, it'll be fun and neither of us will remember tomorrow!"

"No."

"Just one glass! That's it! You should at least see if you like it."

Gaara stared at me for a minute before he glanced at the half-full glasses. "That is too much."

"OK! Just taste a little."

He still looked uncertain.

"Here look! I'll go first!" I grabbed the glass and downed it.

I choked and coughed for, like, three minutes. "EW! That was disgusting!" Then, I remembered that I really wanted to see a drunken Gaara. "I mean, at first I was all 'ew', but, oh wow, that after taste! Yum… it's all… umm, smooth or whatever."

It wasn't hard to tell that Gaara didn't buy that even a little. Still, he grabbed the glass and took a sip. He didn't choke or freak out like I did, unfortunately, but he shrugged and tasted a little bit more before putting it down.

"I don't care for it." He then poured out his coffee and sipped at that instead.

I cursed inside my head. What the hell? I went through that torture of drinking nail-polish remover and for what? So, he could drink his coffee like always? Wait. Coffee. That's right!

"Oh! I know. Why don't you have Irish Coffee? I'm sure that's your drink!" I picked up his glass and poured it into the black coffee.

Gaara sighed softly. "I have no interest in becoming inebriated."

"Inebi- what?"

"Intoxicated."

"Yes, you do! Everyone wants to try it at least once!" I sat myself on top of his counter.

Uncertainly, Gaara took a small sip from his coffee. I couldn't tell based on his face whether he liked it or not, but he continued to drink it. SCORE! My happiness was short-lived, though, because he didn't finish the drink and instead dumped it down the drain.

My jaw dropped. "Why?!"

"I didn't care for that concoction either."

So, he was trying to drink it anyway… for me? Oh, my cheeks were heating up because of the alcohol. I wonder if I drank too much… Whatever. Gaara wasn't going to get drunk, so it didn't really matter if I was sober enough to remember today clearly.

Gaara headed upstairs to his bedroom, and I followed behind his tail. Not literal tail or anything. Gaara didn't really have a tail. That'd be strange. I guess not any stranger than him wearing cat ears. No, that wouldn't be strange. He has cat ears. They're just invisible. Like his eyebrows. And, his tail.

He sat down at his desk and started to set up his stupid study area. Why the hell does he have to study when I'm here? We barely saw each other all freakin' week. You'd think he'd miss me enough to give me a little more attention. I growled and sprawled myself out of his bed. I squirmed around because laying still was just impossible. My body felt really hot. Why the hell is it so damn hot? I sat up and pulled my shirt off. I flung it at Gaara, but he caught it and threw it back at me without even a glance. I frowned and pushed the stupid shirt to the floor as if it was some disgusting, dirty thing.

I stared up at the ceiling. It was annoying me how boring it was, so I glared at it. Then, I remembered about this morning.

I can't believe I'm actually going on a date with Sakura-chan! Should I pick her up? But, I don't have a car. Ero-Sennin doesn't either. I guess I could rent a limo or something, but I'm broke. I groaned and twisted over on the bed to rest on my side with my arm as a pillow.

Suppose I could just ask Kiba what he's doing. I haven't talked with him at all since the argument. We're stuck cleaning the cafeteria together during lunch, and I try to make it fun by talking and playing with him, but he never responds. He just cleans and cleans with a wrinkle in his forehead. Probably waiting for an apology or something. Well, he ain't getting one! It was his stupid comments that started all of it.

I'm getting pissed off now. Happy thoughts, Uzumaki. HAPPY THOUGHTS! If I behave well at the dance, I wonder if Sakura-chan will kiss me? I immediately jolted up at the thought. OH MY GOD! WHAT IF SHE KISSES ME? It'll be awful. I mean, I've never kissed anyone before. What if- what if I do it all wrong and lose my chance? NO WAY!

I slapped my cheeks in attempt to calm down. Has Gaara-chan kissed anyone before? Would he have any advice for me? I scooted myself over to my side of his bed.

"_Gaa~ra~-cha~n~!_" I called for the redhead.

His head creaked to look at me, and his eyes were all suspicious.

I fluttered my eyelashes and patted his side of the bed. "Come, come."

Gaara just continued to stare with suspicion, or maybe it was confusion?

"Please~! Just for a little bit!" I rubbed the spot heatedly.

His eyes shut for a moment before he finally pushed out of the chair and sat next to me. "What do you want?"

"I'm worried about the dance with Sakura-chan. Like, what if she wants to kiss me?" I stretched my cheeks and let them snap back against my face.

"Then, do it."

"But, but, but I DON'T KNOW HOW! I've never kissed a girl before. Have you ever done it?" I stared up at Gaara, and he stared at me with just the most dull expression.

Oh right. Gaara's never touched or been touched by anyone unless he was beating the crap out of them. And, me. There's me now. I took notice of his gloved hand and grabbed it. I held it up to my face, and just examined it. At least he wasn't trying to rip it away from me like the first time. I removed the glove and threw it behind me. There wasn't any bandage anymore, so I traced his hand over with my fingers. God. Why is he so freakin' girly? His hands are like the softest thing ever. I guess it's a given when he's constantly covering them up, but why the hell are his fingers so long? It ain't normal at all. I looked back up at his face.

His eyes were way too pretty, too. Sakura-chan's don't even compare to his. He wears makeup, too. Like, what the hell? Does he WANT to be mistaken for a girl? I growled at him for trying to deceive me and everyone else. He didn't really respond. He just kept watching me with that blank stare. His face looks really soft, too, even though he doesn't cover it with anything. His lips are small and pink. HE BETTER NOT BE WEARING ANY LIPSTICK! I'll freakin' punch him if he is. His neck is long and smooth-looking. Oh, well at least he's got an Adam's apple. I want to poke it. You know, in case it's… fake or… something.

I leaned forward. My face was really close to his neck. He had this fresh scent, like the wind – a breeze. My right hand held his bare hand tightly as he tried to pull back from me. My left reached for the lump in his neck. It was real. Gaara's really a guy. I leaned back and grinned at him.

"Gaara didn't lie." I played with his hand a little, pushing and pulling at his fingers lightly.

His brows knitted. "You had too much to drink."

I snorted. "No. I'm perfectly fine. Don't be silly. _Si~lly~!_ Silly Gaara."

I looked back up at his face. His lips were like a girl's, weren't they?

"Gaara, I actually have kissed someone before." I frowned at the memory. "That bastard, Sasuke, and me were having a glaring match in junior high. Someone knocked into me and well…" I shuddered. "It made me want to vomit. I poured alcohol on my lips about three times a day for a week. They got really chapped and burned, but it was just so gross."

Gaara didn't say anything.

"But, I hate Sasuke. We have a weird friendship: I hate him, but he's my friend." I shook my head. "But Gaara's my friend, and I don't hate him."

Gaara sighed through his nose lightly. "What do you want to say?"

"Umm… well, maybe you could help me…, like, practice for Sakura-chan. A lot of girls do it. I bet guys do it, too. They just hide it… I don't hate you like Sasuke, so maybe it won't be as gross."

"No."

"PLEASE~!"

"No."

"You're my friend, yeah? Friends don't let other friends kiss with no experience."

"No."

"_Gaa~ra~-cha-_"

"No."

My face morphed. I felt like I was about to cry. Why was he being so stingy? Doesn't he like me? Aren't I his friend? WHY? WHY GAARA?

His eyes shut closed again. He stayed like that for about five minutes. I didn't really understand what he was doing, so I just stared at him – waiting. He was so vulnerable sitting there like that. Did he think I wouldn't try anything? I leaned in toward him. I was getting closer and closer, but before I could reach, his eyes popped open. I blinked at him. He blinked.

"Fine."

What? …Fine? It's fine? It's OK?

"Really?"

He rolled his eyes. "I don't really ca-"

He didn't have time to finish. I went in for the kill: My lips collided against his. I was right. They were soft. I leaned in closer. His bottom lip belonged to me. He tried to pull back a little, but I set my hand on his neck to stop his movements. I didn't really know what I was doing. It didn't matter though; I just did whatever I wanted. Now, his top lip was mine. My heart was racing and the room somehow got to a boiling temperature. I could feel the blood rushing. Rushing where? It didn't matter. Slowly, Gaara began to take over my bottom lip. Ahh, it's a battle. I smiled a little. I wasn't going to lose. He nibbled at my lip, and I shuddered a little. But then, he froze. His eyes snapped open and he shoved me off the bed. My head slammed against the hardwood floor.

"Ow." I rubbed the back of my head and sat up. "What the he -"

No. What the hell was_ I_ doing? Gaara is… Gaara is a guy! I shouldn't have… Of course he's disturbed… I'm also… disturbed. WHAT THE HELL WAS I DOING? Actually, more importantly, why the hell am I hard? THIS IS NOT THE TIME, HORMONES!

I grabbed my shirt that was thankfully nearby and covered my crotch. I hoped he didn't notice it. Then, I ran out of the room and to one of the bathrooms. I shut the door and locked it.

"Calm down. Calm down. Umm, grass growing. Grass grows so slow… why grass…, do you grow so slow? Grass is green. Gaara's eyes are a prettier gre- NO! No, no, no, no, no, NO!" I turned on the faucet and splashed my face with the cold water.

What the hell? What the hell? WHAT THE HELL? I'm not even drunk. Why the hell did I do that? Getting buzzed DOES NOT make you do something like… does it? I've never been buzzed before, so maybe it can still make you do crazy crap. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. What the hell's wrong with me?

Gaara's probably so freakin' pissed off at me right now. God. After he pushed me off, he looked terrified as hell. I can't blame him. I basically took advantage of the fact that he doesn't know about how much a person should do for a friend. Why am I always so damn stupid?

"Ugh."

After my 'problem' went away, I forced myself to go back into Gaara's room. I had to apologize and get on my knees to beg for forgiveness. But by the time I got there, Gaara wasn't in the room anymore. I blinked. Where did he go? I caught a glimpse of red on the floor. What? The red droplets were leading out of the room. I squatted down to get a closer look.

"Blood?"

###


	10. Chapter 10: Normal

.

Gaara

Chapter 10 "Normal"

July 15; Friday

I didn't even pay attention when Naruto scrambled out of the room. I didn't have any time to think about it. The urge was there, and I nearly used him to fulfill it. Right now, it needs to be curbed. I can think about him after.

I opened up my nightstand drawer and located the razor blade I kept in there. My hand just healed, and yet again it will have to heal. I pressed the blade into my palm and slid it across. The razor was always much easier than teeth. It cut cleanly, but the fluid always flowed smoothly from it. My breathing began to relax as I watched the pieces of myself drip onto the floor.

Then, I recalled that Naruto was still here. I could hear him running the faucet in the bathroom. He can't see me like this. If he discovered me like this, I'd be hated by him as well. I quickly left my room to go into another bedroom. I heard the door open, footsteps, and then another door; Naruto was now in my room. I leaned against the wall and slid down onto the floor.

I couldn't stop the images of the blond covered in his blood from intruding into my mind. I wanted to bite and tear at his lip until it bled, to scratch and to cut his golden skin until he'd drown in red. I stared at my dripping hand. It wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

A soft knock on the door drew me from my thoughts.

"G-Gaara?"

The blond's voice. I also wanted to make his voice scream. It itself already had a hint of hoarseness, but I wanted to exacerbate it.

He knocked again. "Are you… all right? There's a little blood on the floor."

"I'm fine."

"Look… I'm really sorry about what I did."

Why was he apologizing? Hadn't I given him permission? No, I was the wrong one. I focused back on my hand. I still couldn't expel thoughts of the blond fusing with red.

I was the repulsive one.

"Leave." I clenched my fists. Fingers delved into the open flesh, I didn't flinch from the pain.

"Yeah… yeah… I'll leave. Just… just let me see where you're hurt…. I'm worried, so after I see that it's ok, I'll leave."

I unclenched my fist to examine my palm. The previously clean cut had widened and distorted. It was even more… more appealing. I clenched my eyes shut.

"Gaara?"

"Leave!"

He hesitated before he spoke again, "why can't I just see if you're ok? It'll only take a second, and I'll leave right after! I swear."

He actually sounded angry – offended, possibly.

I rubbed my temples. Why must he be so persistent? I took a deep breath. I removed the other glove and brought my razor to the index finger of my unscathed hand. I slit across and a small stream of blood seeped forth.

I stood to my feet and shifted behind the door, so when I opened it neither I nor my bleeding palm could be seen. I cracked the door open and revealed my bleeding finger to Naruto. He hissed at the sight. Yes, that is a normal reaction. In reality, I am more of an oddity than the blond. I am able to see that more clearly now. I quickly withdrew my hand and shut the door.

"Ok… So, otherwise, are you sure you're all right?"

"Just leave."

"Yeah… I-I'm leaving." I heard a single step. "I am… real sorry, Gaara." A succession of steps, they eventually ceased to be heard.

###

July 16; Saturday

I blinked at the blond in my doorway. "Why are you here?"

Just yesterday I asked him to leave, and yet he's already returned.

He's still an oddity even if I am as well.

"Umm, well, I'm always here on the weekends, aren't I? Isn't that what normal friends do? They hang out. It's normal." He didn't force himself inside like normal, and his speech was much more frantic than usual.

Things were certainly not normal, but Naruto wished to pretend. That's fine. I also preferred to pretend. I stepped aside to allow him entrance.

"I didn't even get to see Naga-chan yesterday." He walked into the dining room and took a seat. "Where've you been hiding her?" He glanced about the room.

"It needed more sunlight. I set it in front of the glass door in the back."

Naruto pouted. "Still calling her an, 'it'?"

I ignored the comment. Before Naruto showed up I was working on a report due for literature, so I returned to my room. He quickly followed behind me. I took my place at my desk, and he took his on my bed.

It was quiet. Neither of us said anything for a while. I exhaled a quiet breath, and then stood from my seat. Tilting his head, Naruto raised a yellow brow. I took a seat next to him, but he quickly stood from the bed.

"Umm, I-… I have to use the restroom!" He ran out.

I suppose it wouldn't be very simple for him to pretend. I've still not heard anything about his past. At this point, it appears I'll never hear about it from him. He'll eventually realize how absurd this situation is and begin to distance himself. Yes. It is to be expected.

Naruto came back in. He glanced at the bed then at me. His head turned to my desk, and he took a seat there.

I shut my eyes. It is to be expected. "Why are you here?" I opened them.

His eyebrows rose. "What? I already told you."

"Indeed, but you're clearly uncomfortable. There's really no need for you to be here."

"I-I'm not uncomfortable!"

"Just leave."

"No!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he didn't budge from my seat. That's fine. I stood from the bed to approach the blond. I hovered over him. He was quick to jump out of the chair and away from me. I turned to look at him.

Yes. He was uncomfortable.

###

**A/N:** Well that's all for now folks! I warned you guys from the beginning that this would be quite a slow story, but I forgot to mention that if you're looking forward to love triangles and the like, you won't be finding much of that here since that's not really the focus. I have a different kind of story in mind that I want to slowly, _very slowly_, build up to and while most of it is pretty planned out, I'd love to hear from you guys! If there's anything that you can predict (well probably much too soon for any real predictions hahaa), or if there's anything you want to read in particular just drop me a message or review and I'll see if there's anything I can do!

Thank you for reading :3


	11. Chapter 11: Labels

.

Naruto

Chapter 11 "Labels"

July 16; Saturday

My bed cried out as I body slammed it.

I'M SUCH A FREAKIN' IDIOT!

I was really trying to be normal, but I just had to keep freaking out. How could I do that? Gaara must be feeling so lousy right now. I was supposed to be someone he could trust. Someone that wouldn't abandon or run from him, but that's exactly what I did. DAMN IT!

But, what else was I supposed to do? Every time he got too close my body would act up. I couldn't stop thinking about kissing him again. I wanted to touch him, and, and, and I'M JUST SO CONFUSED!

I can't be…g- No. No. NO! I've liked Sakura-chan for so long now. I mean, she's strong, but I guess Gaara's a lot stronger. He's also more slender, and he's softer, and he tastes good- NO! I like Sakura-chan! I DO NOT HAVE ANY GAY FEELINGS! I slapped the sides of my face a few times. It's- I only feel this way because-because, well..., OH! It's because I haven't had enough experience with girls. Of course! That's why!

I rolled over and off my bed. Kneeling on the floor, I shoved my hand beneath the full-sized mattress. I was searching for that familiar bulge.

"Ah!" I found it.

It was my froggy coin purse, Gama-chan. I grinned at his fatness. Gama-chan was always happiest when he was fat. Running towards Ero-Sennin's office, I flung his door open.

"ERO-SENNIN! I WANNA GO TO A STRIP CLUB!"

He stared at me with skeptical eyes. "Last time I invited you, all you did was complain about how boring it was."

"What?! No!" I scoffed. "I love looking at naked women's bodies. They dance all over a pole and a table with the same moves over and over and over again with the same bits of fat bouncing over and over and over again. IT'S FUN! I love, Love, LOVE IT!"

A white brow rose. "You seem desperate. Is something wrong?"

"Desperate? Pshhh, no! I just LOVE GIRLS! What's desperate about that? Look," I shoved Gama-chan in front of Jiraiya's face, "I'll even pay for myself! I'm just SO HAPPY~ to be going!"

"Ohohoho~! I see, I see!" Ero-Sennin snatched Gama-chan away from me. "But, you see, you lied about not having any money to pay for the coffee table. As a father-figure, would it REALLY be responsible of me to reward you when you lied?" He strolled out of his office.

"Whaa…? NOOOO!" My knees gave out and I reached out for Gama-chan. "GAMA-CHA~N~!"

It was too late. Ero-Sennin was out the front door and off to the nearest strip club with my poor Gama-chan. I was pretty much dead at this point. Sprawled out on his cold office floor, I lifelessly muttered, "I like girls, I like girls, I like girls…"

After an hour of that, I realized it wasn't going to be helping my situation at all. What I needed was advice. There had to be an explanation for this. It was a freak accident, or it's just my stupid hormones being stupid! ANYTHING BUT THE G-WORD!

There was really only one person I could think of talking about this to. He's the only person I know that's gay. And, that's fine. He can be gay all he wants. I'M NOT GAY, though. So, it's always been fine. I just hope to God he ain't still mad at me.

###

"Umm, so, thanks for coming over. I know it was sudden and everything, so thanks."

"It is nothing at all. If you ask why, it's because I am your friend. And as I had previously explained: Come hell or high water, friends swarm together. This even includes when said friends forget about another friend and make him feel ostracized and isolated. But, I am a true friend who does not do such a thing. A true friend that will not seek vengeance."

Maybe this was a bad idea. Will Shino really be able to help me out? He's still sulking about me forgetting him the other weekend. Kiba was right; he really will not let it go. Then again, I don't know anyone else that's gone through something like this.

"I'm just going to come right out and ask…" I stroked the arm of the couch and refused to look Shino in the… sunglasses. "How… how did you know that you were, err, gay?"

"How did you know you were heterosexual?"

"SHINO, PLEASE!"

Shino leaned back into the couch. "Kiba was invited to my home. When I showed him my collection, he didn't squirm. That was when I fell in love with him."

"Wait- what? YOU LIKE KIBA?"

"A friend should let his friend finish speaking before interrupting. If you ask why, it's because the questions being asked will be answered as the story goes on. How does one answer if one is interrupted? Do not interrupt."

"Ok, ok. Go on." I slouched back into the couch.

"He brought Akamaru, who was still a pup at the time and not the giant he currently is, and he allowed the pup to knock over my ant farm. Kiba then proceeded to step on my precious ants while laughing manically and spewing out foolish words about how powerful he is. That was when I broke up with him."

A sweat drop developed on the back of my head. "But…, you guys didn't really go out."

"Perhaps."

"No, there's no perhaps." I scratched my head.

"Why are you interrupting? I don't like to explain twice. If you ask why, it's because it makes a friend feel as if the other party wasn't listening in the first place. That will make the friend feel ignored and diminutive. Friends don't not pay attention when one is speaking."

"ALL RIGHT! I'm sorry!" Jeez, I really hate his way of talking.

"Even though Kiba was not the right one for me, I quickly realized that males were least likely to be bothered by my hobbies. So, I explored the feeling a bit more through the use of resources, such as books and the internet. It was then that I realized if I had to be intimate with another person, it'd have to be a male. Females could never hold my attention for long, and they'd always scream and cry whenever they came to my home. I prefer males over females."

"So~, you just looked at gay porn?" I blinked. His story didn't really help me.

"Well, yes, there was that."

I stood from the couch. "I'M NOT WATCHING GAY PORN!"

"No one said you had to." Shino adjusted his black shades. "What is this about, Naruto?"

I slumped back into the cushion. "I had a little to drink, but I wasn't drunk. I was just a little out of it. Then, I kind of… kissed another guy. I just wanted to practice because I'm going on a date with Sakura-chan and I didn't want to disappoint her, but… I… I think I liked it way too much."

Shino nodded his head. "If you had to decide this instant, who do you want to be with right now: Haruno or the male?"

Gaara. NO! Sakura-chan! I misunderstood the question. That's why that happened. It's like… I don't know! Gaara's fun to be around even though he doesn't say much, but Sakura is always so irritated, but Gaara, but Sakura, butbutbut- GAHH I DON'T EVEN KNOW!

I guess Shino noticed my inner turmoil. "You don't have to decide all at once, Naruto. Enjoying a kiss from a male doesn't immediately dictate that you're homosexual. You may have an attraction for both males and females, or perhaps this male is simply special to you, or it could be the very simple fact that kissing releases hormones that make a person feel good. Instead of thinking about what you believe is correct, do as you wish to do. That will lead you to the right answer. If you wish to touch him, then touch him. If you wish to kiss him, then kiss him. If you ask why, it's because if you continue to wish to do these things, then yes, you do have feelings for this male, and you may be homosexual or bisexual or demisexual. Whichever answer you come to, it will be right. There is no wrong answer because those are just labels which can never hope to explain the complexities of the human condition."

"I-I do… want to do those things, but I can't just do them… It's impossible."

"Why is it impossible?"

I massaged my forehead. "I don't know… it's just not normal."

"Am I not normal?"

My head jerked to look at Shino. I never felt anything negative about him. Not once. He's my friend, and his preferences never mattered to me. Most of the time, I wouldn't even remember the fact. So, why is it so hard to accept when it comes to myself?

"No, you're not normal Shino, but not 'cause you're gay. You're just a weird guy, and that's why I like you!" I smirked.

I'm really glad I talked to Shino. He's got first-hand experience, he's smart enough to help me understand, he doesn't judge, and he hasn't jumped down my throat about who I'm talking about. He's just awesome even if the way he talks annoys the crap out of me.

The image of Gaara in nothing but swim trunks flashed so quickly in my mind, I wasn't even sure if that was what I really saw.

I hopped over to Shino and hugged him tightly around his shoulders. "I can't really understand it, but I am attracted to him." I felt the blood rush from my face at the confession and my smirk fell right away.

My grip on Shino loosened. I had to get a glass of water. I ran into the kitchen and got just that.

Shino had followed me and was resting a hand on my shoulder. "You will eventually become accustomed to the idea. It'd be wise to not stress about it. Stress will not be helpful."

I nodded my head. "Thanks, man."

"No thanks necessary for I am your friend. Even if I was forgotten before, I will still be your friend."

My face fell.

He's _STILL_ going to sulk about that?

###


	12. Chapter 12: Merge

.

Gaara

Chapter 12 "Merge"

July 17; Sunday

Once again, the unrelenting blond was standing outside of my door. He really doesn't understand the meaning of self-preservation. Why was he here again? Doesn't he recall yesterday's behavior? Yesterday's discomfort?

"Why are you here?" How many times have I asked that question?

The blond chuckled. "I wanted to come over, so I came!" He forced himself passed me and into the house.

I closed the door and turned to him.

"Before we do anything," He held his hands behind his head, "show me Naga-chan! I haven't seen her in FOREVER!"

I stared at the blond for a while before leading him to the back of the house. He chattered on as usual next to me. It really was as if he had forgotten. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. When he noticed, he grinned with eyes turning to horizontal slits.

"OH! NAGA-CHAN!" He ran over to the small plant. He squatted down and ran his fingers along the container. "She's gotten a bit bigger since last time!"

I nodded.

"Can I give her some water?"

"The soil isn't dry enough yet."

"Tch." Mumbling under his breath, the blond stood and headed upstairs to my room.

He sat himself down on my bed. I made sure to keep my distance by sitting down at my desk. I stared at him in silence.

Grabbing a pillow, Naruto held it close to his chest in a loose embrace. "Why are you so into school? I always thought you didn't seem the type."

A random question, but it's simple to answer. "I plan on not having to rely on my father to survive."

Naruto nodded fervently. "Yeah. You shouldn't have to depend on that jerk. Is there any career you're aiming for?"

This isn't the conversation I wish to be having now. Even if Naruto is still uncomfortable at least he is now capable of properly conversing with me. Since that's the case, there's something else I'd rather discuss.

"Why were you resented?"

The hold around the pillow tightened. "Right… that." His eyes glazed over.

"I won't force yo-"

"No. I did say that if you talked about your past, I'd tell you mine. Besides I want to tell you, and it's not like it's a big secret or anything..." He sighed and pushed the pillow aside. "I guess I feel like if I don't think or talk about it, then it never really happened. But, it did happen. Well, more than that, it's kinda petty 'cause it can't even compare to what's happened to you…"

"The past isn't for comparison."

He laughed lightly. "Yeah… I know."

It was silent, but then he looked up at me and smiled. He scooted to one side of the bed and patted his hands on the other.

Why is he doing that? He actually expects me to go over there?

"Relax! I won't attack you again."

That's not exactly what I'm concerned about.

"It'll be fine, I swear!"

That's fine. It doesn't matter to me either way. If he wants to run away again, I won't stop him.

I made my way over to the bed. I sat against the frame as did Naruto. He grinned at me while reaching for my hand. I didn't stop him. I never hated the gesture. I didn't not want the unfamiliar, warm sensation… He removed my glove and brushed his finger over my bandaged one. I watched him in silence.

"My parents… I don't remember them since they died when I was baby. My godfather was always travelling off the grid, so no one could contact him when they died. I was taken in by my mother's friend instead, Kurama. It was all right in the beginning. He wasn't exactly affectionate, but he fed me and gave me somewhere to live. When school started, the adults looked at me with a lot of hate, and they'd tell their kids to avoid me. I didn't know why they felt that way, but I couldn't accept it.

"I did everything I could to get someone, anyone to pay some attention to me. Everyone loved the swing sets, so I played there. But whenever I set foot near them, everyone just ran off to play somewhere else and completely avoided the area. It was like I had a giant barrier around myself, and I just sat on the swing alone while watching everyone play with each other or watching them be praised and loved by a family I never had. Eventually, I started approaching people directly. I ran up right in front of them. Still, they just quickly walked right on passed me – sometimes without even sparing a second look. That hurt the most. I felt like my insides were caving in. I'd run up again, waving my arms in the air, yelling 'I'm here, I'm here! I'm not invisible! I'm here, y'know!' I wanted some kind of confirmation that I existed because I could feel myself disappearing. It never worked, and I never understood why."

Naruto's grip around my hand tightened.

"Then, Kurama started to ask me to do some weird things. I had to deliver stuff to people at weird hours, or pick things up. Sometimes I had the crap beaten out of me for reasons I didn't understand. So I slowly learned to defend myself, and Kurama did help me to learn, too… About a year later, I figured it out. Kurama was in a gang. No, he wasn't just in a gang. He's the boss of one of the most infamous gangs. He had me delivering drugs for him… I was like his freakin' drug dealer when I was only ten!

"But, I couldn't just stop doing as he asked. Where else did I have to go? No one gave a damn about me. So everyone kept on hating the kid being raised by a gang leader, and I kept getting into more and more fights. Well, I actually liked getting into fights in school, though. At least, people paid attention to me. But, after a while they got scared and stopped doing even that. I just totally stopped existing. At one point the only people I fought were Kurama's enemies. They were never fun, though, because I never knew when they'd be bringing in a gun… They didn't care if a little brat died after all. It's not like they'd never killed one before."

It was abrupt, but he was finished. He silently manipulated my hand. I stared at him. Now that I knew, what was I to say? Why did I even feel the need to know in the first place? But the look in his eyes right now…, I know it well. I understand his pain, and he also understands mine. The pain of being forced down a path someone else chose. The pain of being alone and detested because of it. The pain of inexistence. My eyes fell to his hands holding on to mine. I allowed my fingers to wrap around his. His head jolted up. His blue eyes were gaping, but they soon softened. He soon smiled a smile that didn't suit him – a solemn smile.

"Gaara, I…" He shook his head and a more appropriate smile appeared. He hurled himself forward. His arms flew over my shoulders and joined behind my back. "Even though I'm a little confused right now, I'm glad I met you."

Why was he confused? What had I done to warrant his appreciation? I still could not understand this blond oddity.

A growl erupted. The blond released me. With a grin, he set his hand over his stomach. "Heehee. I'm hungry. Feed me!"

Naruto leaped off of the bed and dragged me to the kitchen by my wrist; I didn't give him any resistance. He let go of my hand the moment we reached instead putting his hands to the use of searching through my cabinets and refrigerator.

"Oh! You've got ramen noodles!" He grinned while pulling out a couple packages of the said item. "But, we'll have to make everything else from scratch." He frowned and began unloading the fridge.

"There's no need for fruit." I blinked.

He scratched his head. "Oh… right… I guess there wouldn't really be any use for syrup either, huh?"

"No." I began returning the unnecessary ingredients to their proper place.

"Sorry, I don't really cook much… Even if I do, it's not exactly edible. Ero-Sennin usually makes me cook as punishment, then has me eat it all while he orders something delicious and makes me watch him enjoy it."

I set carrots, green onions, garlic, and ginger onto a cutting board along with a knife. "Dice."

Naruto nodded and did as instructed. I brought out a small pot and filled it with broth. I added other miscellaneous ingredients, such as sesame oil and miso seasoning and waited for it to heat up.

"Ow!"

I glanced over to Naruto who was examining his finger with a frown. My eyes widened at the sight. His finger was dripping red. He turned to me and suddenly chuckled. The blond, foolishly, forced his bleeding finger closer to me.

"Look, now we match!"

My hands trembled at my sides. I restrained myself. Naruto kept smiling as he brought the wounded finger to his mouth. Slowly, slowly, at such a wretchedly cruel pace, a drop trickled onto his lips and flowed down his jaw. Before I even realized it, my hand had captured him by the wrist.

He blinked with slight surprise in his blue orbs. "Gaara? What is it?"

My thoughts were already lost to me. I brought his finger to my mouth. Allowing it to slowly brush against me, lips parted and the strong taste overflowed my senses. The salted metallic taste and scent. It was warm, but it chilled me. The sound of my tongue running along the wound overpowered any other noise in the room. I watched the blood rise in my blond's cheeks. Yes. My blond, whose lips and chin were also tainted red. His hand was liberated in exchange for the trickle along his face. I leaned in closer to him. My tongue ran along the base of his jaw. It followed the path his fluid existence laid out for me. Eventually meeting the peach pink lips, my tongue ran across it – erasing all evidence of his wound.

A grip tensed around my wrist, and my back was forced against the black fridge. The formerly motionless blond stole his lips away from me. I stared at him. His narrowed eyes were focused and watching. Slowly, they became half-lidded and fogged. Leaning in, his lips met mine. It was light at first. Then, he began to draw in my lower lip between his. As he moved to my top, I could taste his tongue against mine. It was hopeless to attempt to differentiate between whose lips belonged to whom and whose tongue belonged to whom. We weren't even two different entities any more. Neither of us took a breath. It was unnecessary.

Underneath my shirt there was a feeling of warm, damp hands running along the sides of my stomach. Separating our lips, my forehead knocked against Naruto's lightly, and I uttered a sound that I was unaware of being capable of. Naruto's breathing was heavy as was my own. While gasping for breath, we stared at one another.

The gurgle of the soup boiling over stole our attention away from one another. I didn't particularly care if the house collapsed at this point, but Naruto rushed to remove the pot from the burner as he cursed. He breathed a sigh of relief as the froth calmed before he sunk to the ground, crouching, with his forehead pressed against the bottom cupboard.

"Oh god." He pulled his head back and then hit it against the cupboard violently. Repeatedly. He turned to look at me with a deep frown, his eyes brimmed with water, a strand of mucus hung from his nostril, and then he faced the cupboard to continue his self-abuse.

Although the sight was discomforting at least it did well to ease the strained sensation below my waist.

"What are you doing?" I withheld a sigh.

Inhaling the hanging phlegm, he looked up at me again. "What are YOU doing? Aren't you weirded out?"

Weird? "Yes." This situation is quite strange and unfamiliar.

The blond's frown deepened and the tears fell from his eyes. "I knew it. This is… this is…" He began hitting his head again.

I walked toward Naruto. "However strange it may be, it is still pleasant." I stooped down next to him and placed his hand in mine. "Similar to how this was...- is."

His eyes were wide, and his tears ceased to fall. For the second time, he threw his arms around my neck, only this time he had thrust himself. I fell back along with him, and my head hit against the hard floor. My tongue clicked against my teeth as I winced.

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Sorry." He sat up and pulled my arm forward to bring me up as well. "Are you ok?" He kneaded the back of my head softly.

I stared blankly at him. "I'm fine."

Another release of laughter. "You're always fine."

I shut my eyes and tensed as he added a bit more pressure. "Nn."

A soft moisture was felt against my forehead. I opened my eyes to see Naruto's chin. He shifted back a little, but his face was still in close proximity to mine.

"God. What are you doing to me?" Cheeks turning pink, he scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

I wished to return his gesture. I leaned forward and lightly pressed my mouth against his reddening cheeks. I softly nipped at the flesh, but restrained myself and released it. I shifted back to look at my blond.

"You really like to bite, don't you?"

I nodded.

A light breath of laughter escaped followed by a slight smile. "Ah, fuck it all."

And, again, we merged.

###

**A/N: **I just wanted to thank all of you who have reviewed/fav'ed/followed so far! I swear it makes me the happiest piece of trash on Earth! And to _middlechild274_, at the moment I have been updating weekly :)

Thank you for reading!


	13. Chapter 13: The Scream

.

Naruto

Chapter 13 "The Scream"

July 17; Sunday

I like Gaara. I can't really deny it after tonight. I don't really know what that makes me, though. I really did like Sakura-chan before, so I can't be… gay. What's demisexual? Demi? Maybe that was Shino's idea of a joke? I guess that really only leaves being bi. That's not too bad… I guess.

The phone ringing in my pocket shook me out of my thoughts.

I saw the familiar name on the screen and answered it. "Yo, bastard. Why are you callin' me so late? What if I was sleeping?"

"Can I come over?"

Realizing something was definitely wrong, I immediately jolted up from my bed. "Yeah. You can always come over."

The line went dead, and I nearly had a heart attack as my doorbell rung only two seconds after. What the hell was the point of calling? JUST RING THE DAMN BELL FROM THE BEGINNING! I stomped through the house and flung the door open. Sasuke stood there, not looking any different than usual, and just walked right on in.

"Took you long enough, loser."

"That's 'cause you almost gave me a damn heart attack, you bastard! Besides, didn't I give you a freakin' key? USE IT!" I wound up slamming the door shut in my rage.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Where's Jiraiya? He'd normally be complaining about all the noise by now."

"He's out tonight." And if you were OH SO CONCERNED about the noise, YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST SAID YOU WERE OUTSIDE FROM THE BEGINNING!

"Hn." Arriving in the living room, Sasuke planted himself on the couch.

I sat down next to him. "…What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Is it that creep? Did he do some-"

"Shut up, loser. It's nothing. I'm just sick of him." Spreading out on the couch, he shoved me off with his feet, and I landed on my backside. "I'm sleeping here. I want to be alone."

Crossing my legs, I didn't stand from where I landed on the floor. "I told you that you can live here. Ero-Sennin doesn't need an office. You shouldn't be living with that guy anyway."

"Hn." Sasuke turned away from me to lay facing the back of the couch. "That wouldn't solve anything."

"They already found Itachi! Why the hell do you need to keep relying on that crusty old piece of crap? Itachi'll be sent to prison with or without that guy persecuting him. Why can't you just leave it alone now?"

Sasuke turned back to face me with a seriously deadly glare, and I flinched from the gaze. "Prison isn't enough. Orochimaru will have him sentenced to death. I won't be satisfied until then."

I glared back at my black-eyed friend. "I get it, Sasuke. That person murdered everyone-…everyone that you... He's the lowest of the low - unforgiveable. But, why let him make you suffer anymore? After he's dead, what then?"

"_Then_, I'll finally be able to live without suffering. Until he's dead, this hell is infinite."

I shook my head. "He isn't worth all the crap Orochimaru put-"

Sasuke turned back away from me. "Orochimaru doesn't do anything to me."

I hardened my stare. "I can't believe that. You don't have to tell me anything, but I know he's not treating you right. He did something tonight, and that's why you're here."

"If you want me to leave so badly, Naruto, I'll do just that." Sasuke stood, but I grabbed his arm and forced him back down.

"I never want you to leave, not if it means you going back to that guy." I sighed and released my grip on Sasuke. "But I guess I should know better by now that you don't listen to reason."

"Tch. Like you're one to talk."

I stood to leave the room. "I really wish you'd let me help you."

"I don't need your help, loser."

###

July 18; Monday

Ugh. I got to class early again today. I couldn't sleep at all, but I was still using my desk as a pillow. Oh, Gaara just walked in. He glanced at me and I smiled at him, but the jerk turned away without a second thought. What the hell? I glared at him as he walked to his seat.

Sakura-chan's still watching me. Haha, if she only knew… I'd probably be buried alive. If she knew that I…that I… like… I groaned and covered my head with my hands. Am I even still allowed to go on a date with her? Would that be cheating? Cheating…? I don't even know. Is it really? Are Gaara and I… more than friends now? Or are we just friends that, umm, do stuff?

Sasuke just walked in. He didn't say anything as he stood in front of his desk next to me, slowly unloading his things. I watched him carefully. He had left before I even got out of my room this morning. Was he feeling any better?

"Quit checking me out, loser." He set his bag on the floor and sat down with his textbook open on his desk.

"Don't flatter yourself, bastard."

"Shino told me this morning. I'm not interested."

My jaw dropped all the way down to the ground. "WHA-WHA-WHA," I was having a stroke and so couldn't finish the question.

"He thought I knew, so he brought it up. He stopped when he realized I didn't know anything about it." He smugly smirked at me.

I couldn't say anything. I was too busy reenacting _The Scream_ painting.

YOU'RE WROOOOOOONNGGGGGGG!

I take it back. I HATE SHINO AND HE IS ANYTHING BUT AWESOME!

###

I was silent the entire drive to Gaara's house, but I wasn't still. No, I was shaking all over and my teeth were clattering. Why? Why? Why did that bastard have to find out? I couldn't bring myself to say anything all day, so I didn't deny it. I'm traumatized. I'll never speak again!

When we got to his house, Gaara had to literally drag me inside because I was just so incapable of doing anything by myself at this point. We got to his room, and he chucked me on his bed. I sat up and hugged my knees, rocking back and forth and back and forth.

Gaara rubbed the bridge of his nose and sat down in front of me. One leg hung off the side of the bed and the other tucked underneath his thigh. "What happened?"

I just kept on rocking back and forth.

"I will hit you."

My eyes widened. Yeah, he will hit me. It will hurt. And, I will cry. "It's just that… that… that bastard, Sasuke, thinks I like him!"

Gaara blinked. "So?"

"So? So? SO? I DON'T LIKE HIM! I LIKE YOU! Why the hell does he have to misunderstand? He's the last person I'd… OH GOD! He'll never let me live this down. On my tombstone it'll read: 'The boy who one-sidedly fell into a forbidden romance with the bastard, Uchiha, Sasuke.' I'LL NEVER REST IN PEACE! I'LL BE TOO BUSY THROWING UP IN MY COFFIN!" The nausea was rising, and I cupped a hand over my mouth.

I focused back on Gaara. Oh no. He's got that face. It's all grumpy, but his cheeks are a little pink. It's the same face that seduced me yesterday. Damn it, Gaara. I buried my face into his bed to escape that stare.

"What the hell are you blushing for?" I mumbled into the sheets.

"I don't blush."

"Yeah, well, tell that to your face."

"…"

"…"

"… You like me?"

I shot up from the bed. "Wha-what?! WHAT GAVE YOU THAT IDEA?" I forced a laugh. For some reason I couldn't stop touching my head and face.

"You said it."

"I-I said no- I DIDN'T SAY THAT!"

Gaara blinked. "…Do you?"

I need an escape. AH! A door! My favorite invention! "HEY! Let's cook-" No, that got us into a lot of trouble yesterday, "let's go out to eat!"

I set my hand on the knob and began to open the door, but it was quickly forced shut. Gaara's hand firmly held it closed. I turned my head to face him. He was hovering over me. Well, not really 'over' me. We're the same height… BUT, HE'S SO FREAKIN' SCARY, HE MIGHT AS WELL BE A TITAN! He stared at me unblinkingly, and it was too intense. My heart was about to explode. ARGH! I NEED TO GET AWAY FROM HERE!

"Answer."

I tried to pull the door open, but he just one-handedly slammed it shut again.

"Answer."

OH MY GOD! I'M BEING HELD CAPTIVE!

His hand grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.

"Answ-"

"AHHHH! WHAT DO YOU THINK? OF COURSE, I LIKE YOU! DO YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE DONE ANY OF THAT CRAP IF I DIDN'T?" Oh great. I went and said it.

Releasing my chin, he took hold of my shirt. He dragged me back over to his bed, and I fell back on it. Now _actually_ over me, he was on all fours above me.

"Umm, Gaara? What are you doing?"

He leaned down and I felt his lips press along my jaw. It led down to my neck and he nipped softly.

"Gaara, umm... maybe we should stop."

He went after my collar bone and my back arched a little. Thankfully, he couldn't go any further because of my shirt- never mind. He was already pulling my shirt over my head.

Oh god. How far does he plan to go?

"WAHH! RAPE! RAPE! RA-" My voice was muffled by Gaara's gloved hand.

He brought his head back up to stare me in the eyes. His green eyes were so intense. They were always intense, but now… so focused and demanding.

"I'm only going to ask once. Do you truly wish for me to stop?"

I stared back at him. Did I? Not really, no. I'm just thinking too much again. About what I should be doing rather than what I want. Everything he did felt good, so why am I freaking out? I want him to touch me, but…No. I want it. That's all there is to it. I shook my head. A smirk took over his blank expression as he removed his hand from my mouth, and his lips met with mine for the first time today.

And, I really didn't want it to be the last time.

His leathered hand cupped my face. I broke away from the kiss and glared at him. "I hate those damn gloves."

Gaara blinked. He looked away for a second, then back at me. Then, he continued as he was before. Trailing his lips along my neck, and collar bone, over my chest. I tried to push him off me. I hated the feeling of the leather… well, not exactly that. I just wanted to feel his hands against my skin. I almost pushed him off, but he took hold of both my wrists and forced them down on either side of me.

"Gaara…hah... let go." When did my breathing get so loud? "Hah… take them… off."

"No," He spoke in between the light pinching of my skin between his teeth.

His tongue slid over my nipple and his teeth flicked over it softly. My back arched and I let out a way too girlish sound.

"Hah… why?" My eyes had shut, but I made myself open them to look down at Gaara.

He looked up at me. "I won't be able to restrain myself."

He gave my other nipple the same attention as the last. My eyelids clenched, and I let out that embarrassing sound again. "Then… don't."

His smooth, dewy tongue swept along the middle of my chest, my neck, along my jaw. It smothered the tip of my ear and teeth squeezed. I wanted to cover my mouth before the moan that threatened to come out could, but Gaara was still holding my arms down.

"I have to," His breath warmly entered my ear, "or, I'll be hated."

My eyes snapped open, and I ripped my hands away from Gaara's grasp. I sat up on the bed. Pressing my hands against his shoulders, I forced Gaara to do the same. There was a slight frown on his lips, but that wasn't important right now.

"What do you mean, you'll be hated?"

###

**A/N:** I meant to post this yesterday since it was our precious baby, Naruto's birthday, but I fell asleep and well... T-T. Anyway, I'll probably post the next chapter tomorrow or Monday after editing it a bit more. I was so happy with the new reviews/favs/follows, gyahh! Thankyouthankyou_thankyou, _you peoples are the best3

To the rest of you lovely folks, thank you for reading :)


	14. Chapter 14: Bite

.

Gaara

Chapter 14 "Bite"

July 18; Monday

My sunflower blond pushed me away from him. Why? There was still much more I wanted to do. I wanted to him to make more sounds, more tremors – feel more of him, taste more of him. I wanted him.

"What do you mean, you'll be hated?" His blue eyes were firm and narrowed.

"I'm sick."

Naruto blinked. "Like… you have an STD?"

A sigh escaped. "Where would I get that?"

"Umm, I would say, 'your mom,' but I think that might come off as an insult." His eyes glanced away as he scratched his temple.

"No. I'm physically healthy."

"Good. So am I. The doctors are always praising me about my perfect health! I'm, like, their fastest healer, and my blood tests are always clean and perfect. They're always begging me to donate!" His finger brushed above his lip as he bragged. Then, as if he just remembered why the conversation started, his countenance tensed. "So, what do you mean by sick?"

If you found out how much I wanted to see you bleed, you'd run.

My eyes shut. "I can't tell you."

"Is it, like, a weird fetish or something? It's normal to have one, you know."

A fetish? I don't know. I've always craved making others bleed. Has it always been a form of paraphilia? No. When it's Naruto, it's different. I don't just want to make him bleed. I don't just want to prove I exist. I want to prove that this oddity truly exists. I want him to seep with the proof of our existence, and I want to consume it.

"You don't have to hide it from me, Gaara. I've already admitted that I… like you… a _guy_. I doubt anything you say, anything you like, will change that." Naruto set his hand on my shoulder. He allowed his thumb to rub soothingly over my shirt.

I still couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and face him. "You're only capable of saying such things because you're unaware."

"Ok, so maybe I won't like how you get your kicks – I still won't hate you for it. No matter what, I won't ever hate you." Naruto took hold of my jaw. "Hey, Gaara. Look at me."

I pried my eyes open. I stared deeply into his unwavering blue eyes.

"You can tell me." He grinned. "I swear, it'll be ok!"

If he's going to run from me… hate me…, then I wish to do it at least once. "I could show you."

His grin fell, and he raised an eyebrow, but he quickly smiled. "Ok!"

I blinked. "It will hurt."

Again the smile fell. "Hurt?"

I nodded.

The blond took a deep breath. "Hmmm." He crossed his arms and stared down at the bed in contemplation. He snapped his head back up. "Will it kill me?"

There's never been any desire to kill the blond. No, I wouldn't want him to die. The thought itself is… unsettling. "No."

"Alright!" He gave me a thumbs-up.

I very much doubt that this will be all right.

After removing my gloves, I placed my hand against Naruto's chest to push him down onto the bed. As I previously had, I lingered above him on my hands and knees. I kissed his lips, his cheek, his neck. Reaching just above his dark caramel nipples, I licked his golden, salty skin. I sucked at the skin, running my tongue along the surface at the same time. Teeth brushed against the reddening area. I nipped, and my blond trembled. An inviting gesture although he's unaware of it. My jaw expanded, and I bit down until I pierced his skin and our existence overtook me.

"OWWW!" Naruto pushed my shoulders up. He stared down at me with one eye scrunched closed. "Gaara, that isn't how a love bite works. You don't actually bite, you just suck."

I blinked at him.

"W-what?" He blinked in return.

His blood flowed discontinuously from his skin. It dripped over his nipple, trickled down his stomach. I smudged the wound with my thumb and brought it to my blond oddity's eyes.

"Yeah, blood. It's 'cause you bit me too hard." He frowned.

I wasn't really sure how to respond. Did he honestly not understand? Fine. I'll take advantage of his ignorance.

I wiped my thumb along his lower lip. The pale pink was hidden by crimson. I leaned in and licked it away, sucked it away. I lowered myself back to his chest. The trickle of blood ended before his navel. I ran my tongue along the trail until it led me to his nipple. I was sure to give it extra attention since that was when my blond made the most noise. His breathing was heavy again. I sucked at the caramel lump, and he arched his hips in to me.

My brows knitted and my eyes closed from the new sensation. "Nn."

"Gaara…hah…"

I looked up at my blond. His blue eyes were partially hidden and his cheeks were almost as red as his wound. His arms weaved around my waist. He brought me down on to him. I felt the new feeling again, and again, and again. Naruto was inducing it as he rubbed against me.

My sights focused on his leaking chest. I gravitated toward it. I lapped at the blood. My tongue dipped in and grated against the open flesh.

"Ah!" His hands parted from me and dug into the sheets, Naruto arched upwards and further against me.

I instantly became tense as the build up inside of me threatened to spill. Again, Naruto rubbed against me, and there was no containing it anymore.

"Nn …" I clutched tightly on to his arms.

"Ahh…" He was still pressed against me.

Against my will, my body convulsed, and I couldn't hold myself above Naruto any longer. I forced myself to roll over next to him. The both of us were breathing heavily.

As the spasms of our muscles gradually calmed, Naruto turned himself toward me. One blue eye was still hidden behind an eyelid.

"Sorry…"

Why is he apologizing?

"I kind of got too excited. You didn't get to show me your kink."

"…"

"Are you… mad?" He looked like he was about to cry again.

I just really didn't know how to respond. Gathering my energy, I shut my eyes for a moment.

"Gaara?"

I stared into his watery, blue eyes. "I showed it to you."

"What?"

More importantly, I have to dress it. Even though I only wanted to remain lying next to Naruto, I stood from the bed and grabbed his wrist to bring him with me to the bathroom. I sat him down on the tub's edge before going into the cabinet to get the bandages, cotton, and antibiotic cream. I set those items on the counter, and then sat down in front of Naruto.

The bleeding already stopped. I twisted the faucet to a warm temperature. Grabbing a washcloth, I drenched it in the running water.

"So Gaara… I can't really," He winced as I applied water to the injury, "Uhh, figure out what you did."

I added soap and continued to wash the wound. "The bite."

"Yeah… yeah, but you always bite. I mean, you bit a little harder this time by accident, but whatever. Wasn't it something different?"

I rinsed away the soapy substance from the washcloth. "… The blood was different." Reapplying the cloth to his chest, I wiped away the suds from his skin.

He blinked at me. His brain ticking until, "YOU DID IT ON PURPOSE?!"

A deep breath and I reached for a towel to dry him off. "Yes."

###

While I was cleaning his wound, Naruto remained silent. It was certainly a better reaction than what I expected, but I still felt a sense of dissatisfaction. For some obscure reason, I had hoped that he would accept it and instantly be all right with the idea. It was an irrational hope.

After the wound was dressed, we separated to shower and change into unsoiled clothing. We were back in my room now. He was sitting on my bed, and I thought it wise to stay at my desk.

"So," Naruto finally broke the silence, "you like to bite until it bleeds?"

"Not necessarily biting."

"So, you just like blood?"

I nodded.

His arms folded and his head tilted downward. "Hmmm." His head shot up. "What about ketchup?"

"…No."

He frowned and resumed his posture of contemplation.

The silence returned; I was not going to disrupt it. That decision rested entirely on Naruto. It wouldn't be strange if he could'nt handle my presence any longer and decided to leave for good. In actuality, it would be the most normal decision my blond could possibly make in this situation.

"Ok." Naruto crawled to the edge of the bed and sat with his legs dangling over it. "Before anything else: I don't hate you, I'm not mad, and everything's ok."

I am… not hated by him?

Naruto chuckled a little. "What's with that face? Did I scare you? Sorry. Really, I should have said all that sooner, but I was a little, uhh, distracted."

Did he scare me? Ridiculous. It's simply that Naruto understood me. He knew my past and did not run away. I was not scared. However, the thought of him hating me was unsettling. But now, he claims to be all right with my twisted desires… Yes. There is a sense of relief. I was indeed… afraid.

"Do you need that stuff to, umm, well, get off?" Naruto blushed lightly and avoided my gaze.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"How do you not know?"

"I was unaware of it until I met you."

"Umm… I made you want blood?" His blue eyes gaped.

"No. I've always desired making others bleed. However, there was never any carnal component to it."

He was silent again. Perhaps, he was finally realizing how warped I truly am.

"Did you ever… act on those feelings? Like, did you attack someone just so they'd be hurt and bleed?"

There had been times when I was incapable of controlling myself. "Yes."

"Do you still do that?"

"No." I no longer let myself use defenseless humans to prove my existence.

"Why?"

How this question is answered will probably determine how he reacts. Did I stop because I didn't want to hurt others? No. I only stopped so I could eventually escape my father. The only existence that matters to me is my own. If others die or cry or bleed, it is irrelevant. If I lie to my blond, then I may be able to keep him. Yet, there is a part of me that wishes to test him. A part of me wanted to see how much of me he would be capable of accepting.

"I wish to escape my father's clutches. He'd constantly hide the evidence of my actions. If I never learned to control my urges, I'd always have to rely on him to clean up after me."

He was finally staring at me again with focused eyes. "Do you want to hurt me?"

"Yes."

He shook his head. "Not for the sake of your fetish. Do you want me to hurt?"

Did it matter to me… if my blond cried or bled or hurt? When I saw those bruises around his navel… I was uncharacteristically irritated. Why? Why does the idea of my blond suffering at the hands of someone else bother me? Didn't I even admit that I'd never want my blond to die? Yes. His existence is also a part of mine now.

"No."

For some unknown reason, there was a smirk on his lips. "I knew it."

Knew it? What did he know? Naruto was standing up from the bed and walking toward me. He sat down on the floor in front of me.

"So, how do you, like, stop yourself from hurting others?" He stared up at me.

I lifted my hand up and unwrapped the bandage. Holding my palm to face Naruto, I revealed the scabbing wound along it. His eyes darted back and forth from mine to my hand.

"Wha- So, you… you… cut yourself to stop it?" His jaw was agape.

I nodded.

Naruto's hands hit against his face and ran down it as he groaned. "Ok. Ok. I don't want you doing that anymore."

I raised a brow. I'm not exactly capable of just stopping.

"You can use me for that. Pain is no big deal to me, so whatever. But, I've conditions. You have to stop if I say so, and, umm, yeah… you can't do it to yourself anymore or anyone else unless they're going to hurt you or something."

I blinked.

What?

Wrapping his arms around my back, he rested his head against my stomach. "I get it, Gaara. I'm not afraid of you. I'm pretty confident I could kick your ass, so I'm not scared at all. I also get that it's hard to care about others when they've never cared about you. But I care about you, so I believe that you won't hurt me… except for, you know." I could feel the vibrations of Naruto's chuckle. "Don't get me wrong. You're a total weirdo. I don't understand this kink of yours at all. But, I guess that's how most people feel about other people's fetishes. Man…what the hell am I trying to say?"

"I don't know." I didn't but whatever he was saying… I was enjoying it.

"Whatever. Basically, I trust you. So, you can do whatever you want to me. I don't care." Naruto glanced up at me and smiled. "Wooow~! It's the first time I've seen you with such a normal smile, Gaara!"

"Thank you, Naruto."

He grinned and gave me another thumbs-up. "Didn't I say it'd be OK?"

Yes. He did. I ran my hand through his hair. He leaned into my touch. I should have also trusted him.

He is my blond oddity after all.

###

**A/N:** Just wanted to clarify a couple things. Not sure if it's necessary, but why not.

In the chapter I was trying to hint at the fact that, yeah Gaara's pretty strange, but Naruto is _really_ strange. Who'd honestly just accept someone biting them and drinking up their blood, just like that? Of course Naruto originally was going to be against it until he found out Gaara was cutting himself. Naruto does tend to put himself in the martyr position just so he can make others happy after all.

Secondly, getting bitten HURTS! It hurts even if you don't draw much blood, and Naruto was hardly affected by it even though Gaara practically tore at his flesh. Basically, Naru has a _very_ high pain tolerance and actually has a tendency to exaggerate how much pain he's in.

So maybe that explains just how much crap Kurama put him through as a child...? I don't know if in the future I'll go into the bitter details. I'm thinking I'll only hint at things, but we'll see.

Well anyway, thank you for reading :3 Any input it always greatly appreciated!


	15. Chapter 15: A Note

.

Naruto

Chapter 15 "A Note"

July 21; Thursday

"Naruto," Ero-Sennin cleared his throat.

He sat me down on the couch the moment he saw me step through the door. He gave me a quick look over and asked that we talk. It was creepy. Ero-Sennin never wanted to just _talk_, but I did as he asked. I was sitting on the couch, while he stood in front of the new coffee table in front of me.

"Every day for the last…" He paced around the room with his chin held in his hand. "What was it? Yes, yes, since Monday, so four days now. I remember because Monday is when I went to visit a cute, young thing at a new little Adult Entertainment Research Center. She was so feisty, but there was just-"

"Get to the freakin' point, Ero-Sennin."

He let out a loud sigh. "For the last four days, I've noticed you've had a growing number of injuries on you. I didn't think anything of it the first time. The one here," Jiraiya patted the left side of his chest, "but then there was this one," He patted his hip bone, "and this one…"

He continued pointing out each and every place Gaara deemed worthy of his 'attention'. My cheeks were burning so much; I thought my face was going to melt off. I really, really, really needed to stop walking around in only boxers.

"…and then there are all the bruises," another sigh. "What's going on, Naruto? Are you getting into fights again?"

Fights? I leaped up from the couch. "YES! YES! I'm getting into fights. NOTHING ELSE IS GOING ON!"

Ero-Sennin stared at me doubtfully. "You're lying."

I slumped back down into the couch. What the hell? I_ really_ needed to get better at lying.

Jiraiya's face contorted into something monstrous. His lips were all puckered up and his eyebrows kept wiggling up and down. "You've got a girlfriend, don't ya?"

Whaaa…?

"You two have been playing doctor, and she likes the foreplay real rough-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I was up and off the couch, running around the living room in circles, with my hands attached onto my head. "UWAHHHH!"

"Bull's eye!" Ero-Sennin snapped his fingers, smirked, and his eyes glittered with stars. "My godson's all grown up now." He suddenly got all weepy. "I haven't got anything left to teach!"

Before I could run past him for the tenth time, he grabbed hold of my shoulder to stop me. He pushed me back down onto the couch.

"When do I get to meet the girl?" His creepy, gross, perverted smile was back. I liked it better when he was near tears.

"THERE AIN'T ANY GIRL!"

"Don't worry. I won't make fun if she's a 4 or a 3… She's not a 2, though, is she? Or, a one? Even _you _could do better than that."

"What the hell? You sayin' I'm no good?"

"No, no, no, no…, no…" His brown eyes darted away from me. That's exactly what he thought.

I growled and stood from the couch again. "WELL, YOU'RE A ZERO!"

He shrugged. "It doesn't hurt if there's no truth to it."

Damn it! I hate talking to this dirty old man. Luckily, my phone started to ring and gave me a reason to get away. Of course, Ero-Sennin was making annoying cat calls as I walked away. Dirty old man. Can't wait to tell him 'bout Gaara and watch him have a heart attack. Pulling the phone out of my pocket, I snickered as I answered it – not even checking who was calling.

"Yo. Uzumaki here." I made myself comfortable on my bed.

"…Naruto?" A familiar deep, clear voice.

I instantly sat up. Gaara's never called me before. I couldn't help the grin on my face. Did he miss me already? I just got back from his house. Hehe. He's just getting more attached to me. Hehehe.

"Hey, Gaara." My fingers kept fidgeting and fiddling with the bed sheet. "Ya miss me?"

The line went dead.

I blinked and stared at my phone. Did he accidentally hang up? I waited for him to call back. He didn't. I checked my logs for his number. It was blocked. WHY? I fell backwards on my bed with my feet sticking up into the air. My eyes glared at my phone. What the hell did he call for if he was just going to hang up? And, why the hell didn't I have his number yet?

Then it lit up again. I was ecstatic for a second, but then, "Oh… it's just Sakura-chan."

I sighed and answered it. "Hey, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto? What's wrong? You sound kind of down." Her voice was real light and girly and ultimately very different from Gaara's.

I shook my head and forced a happier exterior. "It's nothing. What's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to check if you were ready for tomorrow. You hadn't really brought the dance up at all since I asked you. You didn't forget, right?"

Oh crap. I totally forgot. "Whaaat? How-how could I forget? Pshh, no!"

"Oh good, then!"

At least there are still some people who can't tell when I'm lying. "Yeah!" Well, it's too late to cancel now. "So, should I meet you there?"

"Mhm, there's no need to pick me up. Thanks for not being weird about this, Naruto. I was really worried you might have gotten the wrong idea."

I chuckled. "Yeah." I did, and it led to this weird relationship with Gaara. "Thanks, by the way."

It was silent for a while. I guess she wouldn't be able to really follow that last comment. I considered changing the subject, but Sakura-chan beat me to it.

"About Sasuke, why don't we do something for his birthday on Saturday?"

I let my legs land on the bed from their previous airborne position. "I thought about that, but that creep Orochimaru... Sasuke says that he has to spend the _entire_ day with him. He's got Sasuke on a damn leash, y'know."

"True." Sakura hummed lightly. "How about Sunday? It can be a belated birthday party!"

I nodded. "That should be ok."

She giggled. "Great! We'll talk to him about it tomorrow and invite everyone then."

"Yeah, but you got to ask Kiba."

"Fighting again?" I could practically hear the roll of her eyes.

"He is. He wants me to apologize first probably, but that ain't going to happen."

"Why? What happened?"

"He was talking crap about Gaara, so- Ah... Wait!" I really do understand why people want to constantly hit me over the head. "I mean, Sasuke! Birthday! YA~Y!"

"Then, you are still hanging around that person?"

"Gotta go! Bye!"

"NARUTO, DON'T YOU DARE HANG-"

I love phones. You can just hang up and be done with it. I snuggled into my pillow. Oh beautiful sleep, you will never know how much I adore you.

###

July 22; Friday

"NARUTO! HOW DARE YOU HANG UP ON ME!" Sakura whacked me over the head with her very, _very_ heavy school bag.

I take it back. Phones are a curse in disguise. They make you think everything will be ok if you hang up, but it's all a lie. It just makes everything worse.

"Ow! It hurts, Sakura-chan."

"Good! And, don't think you've snuck your way out of the conversation. We'll be talking about it thoroughly later." She immediately twirled on her heels to face Sasuke, whose head was jammed into a book.

With my face resting against the desk, I massaged the pulsing bump on the back of my head.

"Sasuke, Naruto and I were thinking," She giggled before continuing her invitation, "would you like to get together on Sunday with everyone? Or just us… whichever you prefer! I personally like the latter-"

"Whatever." Sasuke looked passed Sakura at me with his head cocked to the side and an annoying smirk on his face. "As long as the loser doesn't try anything."

I jumped out of my desk. "I WOULDN'T TOUCH YOU WITH A TEN FOOT POLE 'LESS I WAS BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF YOU WITH IT!"

"Calm down or else!" Iruka-sensei slapped the ruler down on his desk. The whipping sound hurt my ears and made me cringe at the memories of its wrath.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and refocused on his book. Sakura kept looking back and forth between Sasuke and me before walking to her seat. She didn't quite follow the conversation, thankfully. I really didn't need anyone else knowing about my conversation with Shino.

Slumping back down into my desk, I twisted my head around to Gaara's seat in the back, but it was still empty. Where the hell is he? I stared hard at the door as if that would make him walk in. He's never been late before and never missed class before either. How annoying. I wanted to tear him a new one for hanging up on me yesterday AND for blocking his damn number AND for not giving me his damn number in the first place. Jerk.

There was a tap on my shoulder, so I turned my head around again. It was Kurotsuchi, a girl I barely knew who sat behind me. She was holding a folded paper in her hand and had a really annoyed expression on her face. How come? She's the one who tapped me on the shoulder!

She cupped a hand over her mouth and glanced at Iruka-sensei. "Take it already."

Oh, it's a note… I mouthed the question, "For me?"

Kurotsuchi nodded and rolled her dark eyes.

"From who?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

I checked on Iruka-sensei. He was still writing on the board, so I quickly swiped the note away from her and faced the front again. My name was written on it, but there was no mention of who the note was from. Still, no one ever sends me notes! Quite excited about my newfound popularity, I unfolded the note in my lap with a big grin I couldn't hide.

The grin was gone. "…"

I slowly folded the note back, stood from my desk, grabbed my bag, walked to the front of the classroom, and exited through the door.

Iruka-sensei was yelling after me, but I couldn't process it at all.

The halls were empty. Like a zombie, I sluggishly dragged myself toward the nearby lockers. The plan was to use them as something to lean on, but I ended up sliding against them and on to the floor anyway.

I unfolded the note again to inspect it except it wasn't actually a note. No words were actually written on it. No. It was a drawing. A drawing of me. An extremely detailed, graphic, and terrifyingly accurate drawing of me. It could probably be mistaken for a photograph if it wasn't for the blade wedged into the center of my head. Or, if my ribs weren't ripping out through my chest. Or, if my gut wasn't punctured and its acid wasn't spurting out and burning my flesh off. Or, if my crotch wasn't crushed by a sledgehammer. Or, if my arms and legs weren't severed from my body and forced down my throat.

God…, I hope this was just Gaara's idea of foreplay.

If only he were here today, I could have honestly let myself believe that.

###


	16. Chapter 16: New Project

.

Gaara

Chapter 16 "New Project"

July 21; Thursday

After Naruto left, it's needless to say that I was forced to shower. He'd still struggle with me whenever we _played_, as Naruto called it, but his resistance was always half-hearted. I knew this because whenever he truly wanted me to stop, he could all too easily force me to. Due to this, I've come to realize that my blond isn't as fragile as everyone else is in comparison to me. Even when I was using much of my strength to remain dominant over him, he was still capable of overpowering me.

It's very peculiar.

Where I've lived and breathed fighting since my birth, my blond's experience with it only actually began when he was ten. How much experience had he gained from completing his caretaker's tasks? One day, I would be fond of finding out exactly how strong my blond oddity is.

Those were my thoughts while showering. Unfortunately, they were completely eradicated as I entered my bedroom. Baki was there, standing in front of my desk. Once he noticed my presence, he attempted to surreptitiously slip something into his back pocket. I did not fail to notice it.

"Why are you here?" I dried my hair with the towel hanging over my shoulders.

"I only wanted to check up on you as usual."

"It is not usual for you to be in here."

Baki walked over to stand in front of me. "My apologies. I thought that I'd simply wait for you in here. Does it bother you?"

"No."

"Good. I see schooling hasn't been a complete failure."

I did not respond.

"We have a new trainer ready for you. You'll be meeting him tomorrow morning."

"There's school tomorrow."

"School isn't important. I'll have the driver pick you up at five in the morning."

As Baki walked passed me to leave, I allowed my fingers to dip into his pocket and retrieve the paper he tried to hide from me.

"Baki." I called for him. I heard his footsteps halt, but I couldn't see him from where I stood, and he couldn't see me. "Wait there."

I quickly memorized the numbers written on the small paper and hid it in my fist. Then, I walked out of my room toward Baki. Standing unnaturally close to him, I allowed my hand to slip into his pocket.

"I saw you hide it."

He gripped my hand to prevent me from supposedly pulling it out.

"Show me."

"It's nothing, Gaara. I was getting impatient while waiting for you, so I was just looking into my notes for my next project."

"Show me."

"You know very well I can't do that. You aren't officially working for Sunagakure as yet. This information is only for the eyes working for the company."

"Show me." I forced my hand away from his grip and toward me.

"Gaara!"

I glanced at Baki's panic-stricken face. "Fine. I don't care." Unfastening my fist, I allowed the paper to fall into the air.

Baki caught it before it reached the ground and shoved it back into his pocket. "Thank you for understanding, Gaara."

I walked back to my room, and Baki left. I smirked as I shut the door. I wasn't sure if he was actually trying to hide something or just testing me again. It was simple enough to figure out which based on his reaction. He's always too predictable.

Jotting down the numbers, I examined them. It was a phone number from a different area code. Although it was possible that it really was just for Baki's assignment, there was something familiar about the combination of numbers.

I withheld a sigh and headed for my closet. I changed into a pair of jeans and threw on a black hoodie. I folded the sheet with the number and held it in the pocket of the hoodie as I headed out.

The summer night was cool with the breeze from the beach. The beach. Before Naruto, I hadn't gone there since Yashamaru. He'd occasionaly take me when we had the free time, which was rare. I occupied myself with the sand while he watched from afar. He'd praise my sandcastles and any other formations I was able to mold from the granules. It was a time when I was able to create rather than destroy. I was proud of myself and pleased that he was also proud of me.

I clenched my eyes shut and expelled the memories.

The walk was loud with the sound of waves and crickets. Peaceful enough, but unfortunately it was also loud with cars and passersby. Perhaps, I should have waited until an emptier time. No. There was an unsettling sensation within me. I did not wish to wait.

Finally, I found a phone booth. Shoveling in a few coins, I dialed the number Baki had tried concealing from me. It rung for quite a while, but one ring was eventually cut short.

"Yo. Uzumaki here."

What? "…Naruto?"

"Hey, Gaara!" A small giggle before he continued, "ya miss me?"

I set the phone back on the hook.

Why? Why did Baki have Naruto's number?

Was that why he was in my room? Searching for information about Naruto? My binder… it was on my desk. Naruto had given me his number and address and placed it in my binder. Did I remove it? No, I didn't.

Still, why?

_"__It's nothing, Gaara. I was getting impatient while waiting for you, so I was just looking into my notes for my next project."_

Baki's words, were they not lies?

Is Shukaku targeting Naruto?

###

July 22; Friday

The driver should be here soon.

Yesterday, I determined that I can't be rash about Baki looking into Naruto. I was far too quick to assume it was the worst-case scenario. The ones gathering information about him could very well be Kamaitachi. Baki works alongside each section of the company, so it isn't impossible. Perhaps, Father learned of my friendship with Naruto and was just having him investigated.

Although, it's possible that I told Naruto too much that night when he asked about my past. I hadn't realized how much my blond would come to mean to me at the time, so I-… No, I didn't say enough to warrant any action from Shukaku.

It has to be Kamaitachi.

My phone beeped: The driver was outside. Withholding a sigh, I allowed him to take me to my father's idea of an execution. It wasn't unusual, but it has become rarer. A smirk played on my face. Yes. I'm far too powerful for most of my father's subordinates. It's becoming harder and harder for him to locate capable fighters. What was strange, though, was the fact that I did not care. Typically, I'd be slightly thrilled for the opportunity to prove my existence - the opportunity to tear at someone's flesh without penalty. Now, however, there was no yearning for it.

Now, I have my blond oddity. There's no need for anyone else.

The driver almost swerved off the road as the smirk widened into a grin. I forced it to relax, but a minute upturn at the corner of my lips still rebelled.

That's fine. My Naruto is the reason for its existence.

###

**A/N:** These chapters pretty much go together, so I just posted them at the same time. Also just wanted to thank you all again for the reviews/favorites/follows :). Especially High on the Rainbow! You definitely didn't sound creepy. I literally jumped for joy reading you're review (now I'm probably the one who sounds creepy)! And gnawing is greater than biting! Hehe. I really try as hard as I can to keep everyone in character, and I'm happy that I was at least successful with that. Thank you for coming off lurker status even if only for one chapter :D!

And thank all of you for reading :3


	17. Chapter 17: Solo

.

Naruto

Chapter 17 "Solo"

July 22; Friday

In every single one of my classes, there was a different note: Somehow each one just as or even more disturbing than the last. They all had the common theme of me being tortured to death with my crotch mutilated in one way or another.

I shuddered.

Whatever. Someone's just trying to freak me out. All they're really doing is desensitizing me to the images. HAH! I ain't scared even a little bit. Ok… I was little nervous. But, c'mon! The pictures were really freakin' creepy.

More than scared or nervous though, I was confused. I just didn't understand who could have been sending them to me. I didn't share all my classes with one person. Could it be Gaara? But Gaara's not here. I can't really believe that it's him. And whoever it is, why? What have I done to anyone recently to make them want to draw me all tortured and dead?

Sixth period ended about two hours ago, but I wasn't heading to my apartment. The dance starts in an hour. I wouldn't have enough time to get home, change, and make it back. I brought my suit with me, and I planned to just take a shower in the locker room.

It looked as though a few others had the same plans, but it wasn't too crowded. I took off my clothes and hung them up over the stall wall where they wouldn't get wet, but before I went in I noticed Shino getting into the stall next to me.

"Shino?"

"Hello, Naruto."

So, Shino's also going to the dance. I grinned. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"No one. Kiba and Hinata invited me to go along with them. If you ask why-"

"I didn't ask why." I jumped into my stall, and he soon got into his. "By the way, WHY THE HELL DID YOU RAT ME OUT TO SASUKE?"

Shino's shower head started to run. "It was my assumption that the reason you all forgot me that one weekend was because you were discussing your confusion. If you ask why, it's because I concluded you didn't invite me because you thought you might make me uncomfortable. So I mentioned to Sasuke about you kissing a male and enjoying it, but his confusion made it evident that it turns out that wasn't what happened on that weekend. I was truly just forgotten and left out to die."

Oh, the annoying, sulking, grudge-holding bastard.

I turned on my own shower head and shivered as the cold water hit me. God, why the hell doesn't the school invest in some freakin' heaters! It was then that my eyes wandered to the side, and I noticed Shino's sunglasses resting on the stall wall. Oh. I could feel the mischievous blood boil in me, warming me in spite of the ice cold shower. I've never seen Shino without his stupid sunglasses on. I chuckled as I got on my tippy toes to peek over at the mopey guy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, faggot?"

I shuffled away from the wall, backed into the stall corner, and waved my hands. "N-no, I was-wasn't-… huh?" They weren't looking at me. I followed the speaker's gaze. Oh, they were glaring at Shino.

"You can't just come into the guy's locker room, pervert!"

"Get the hell out!"

"What's even the point? Not even bleach can wash away your filth."

Shit, they're grabbing their shoes. I jumped out of my stall and blocked the shoes from hitting Shino. I didn't let myself even flinch away from their impact.

The shoes hit the floor and the assholes were empty handed. I glared and yelled at them, "BACK THE HELL OFF!"

They scrunched up their faces. "Tch."

They looked me over. Probably at my bruised up and bandaged body. "Let's stop, or the fox brat might sic us." They mumbled and went back to whatever the hell they were doing.

I rolled my eyes and peeked in at Shino. "You all right?"

From what I could see of his back, Shino had quite a few bruises on him as well. Sadly, I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the same excuse as I do for mine.

He didn't turn to look at me when he answered, "Yes. Thank you, Naruto."

I twisted my head to glare at the other people in the locker room. Stupid bastards. "You know, if they ever try anything-"

"You shouldn't interfere. It'll only bring back your reputation."

I grumbled under my breath and pulled my towel around my waist. I'm not very intimidating stark naked after a _very_ cold shower. I jumped up onto the locker benches and glared at all the bastards in here.

"Listen up! Any of you touch Shino again, and I'll beat your asses into the dirt, GOT IT?" I thought for a second. "ALSO YOU BETTER NOT LET ANYONE ELSE TOUCH HIM EITHER! OR I'LL STILL BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF ALL OF YOU!"'

The jerks glanced back and forth from one to the other. Even though they were glaring at me, they nodded their heads in understanding. I guess sometimes it's a good thing that people don't forget. I let out a groan while hopping off the bench and headed back to finish my shower.

"Naruto… you shouldn't have done that."

"Whatever." I soaped myself up quickly. I just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

"Thank you."

"No thanks necessary. That's what friends are for, right?"

"…Yes."

###

GOD! I LOOK DAMN SEXY IN A SUIT!

Scratch that. I always look damn sexy.

Of course I was rocking it out in the classic black and white suit except without a tie because I CAN'T BREATHE WITH THOSE THINGS! I also let my blazer fly loose, and the first few buttons were undone to tease everyone with just enough while still leaving enough room for the imagination.

I winked at myself in the mirror one more time before setting out for the gym. Sakura-chan had just texted me that she's already there and waiting for me. She also said that if I don't hurry up and people think that she's there alone, she'll punch me out.

As I entered the decorated and multi-colored illuminated gym my ears were bombarded by the pop music and chattering of the students and staff. Sakura had noticed me soon after I set myself in front of the food platters.

"I knew you'd go straight to the food." She lightly punched my arm.

I chuckled and heaved a stick of kabob down my gullet.

"Disgusting!" She did not lightly punch me. I nearly choked.

After my coughing fit and a glass of water, I took a proper look at Sakura-chan. She was wearing a sleeveless red dress that hugged her and ended above her knees.

"You look awesome, Sakura-chan!"

She giggled lightly. "Yep! I spent a fortune on this thing." She looked me over real quick. "You clean up pretty well yourself."

I popped my blazer as I struck a debonair pose. Sakura laughed, and I joined her.

"Naruto!"

My head twisted around to locate the source. Shockingly enough, it was Kiba. He was approaching Sakura-chan and I with Hinata and Shino. It was the first time he's talked to me since our fight.

"Hey, Kiba…?"

"Look. For now, let's just forget that whole… thing. I heard what you did for Shino. I really appreciate it. I've tried everything to get them to leave him alone… Anyway, thanks." Kiba scratched the back of his head and avoided my eyes that were brimming with happy-tears. "Quit the gooey stuff already! Jeez!"

I wiped my eyes and smiled at my friend in a tux. I looked over at Hinata. She was wearing a loose, light purple ruffled dress that cut off at her knees.

"You look great, Hinata!"

"Th-thank you, Naruto-kun." She glanced away from me. "Y-you too."

Nodding my thanks, I shifted my stare to Shino. He's always so weird. Instead of wearing a typical tux, he's sporting a light green blazer, a dark green shirt, a dark blue scarf, and grayish trousers. Obviously, sunglasses are included.

I smirked. He doesn't give a damn about anyone's opinion. Not that it looked bad, it just stood out. "You look great, too, Shino!"

"Naruto, also."

"WHY THE HELL AM I THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A COMPLIMENT?" Kiba's fangs were bared. He meant serious business.

"Of course, of course," I patted his shoulders down, "Kiba's almost as hot as I am!" That's the best compliment I could ever give!

He shrugged my hands away from him. "I'm WAY hotter than you, Naruto."

"THE HELL YOU ARE!"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" A fuming Sakura and red bumps on both Kiba's and my head: It wasn't hard to tell what took place.

Eventually, we all went out onto the dance floor. Sakura complained about my 'outrageous' dance moves, but I thought that they were pretty damn awesome. Well, she got sick of whatever I was doing wrong and was going to go sit down. I reached out to maybe change her mind and I didn't want to let her go into a sour mood since we'd only just started having fun, but out of nowhere someone tripped me just before my hand could brush against hers.

I landed on my hands and knees, my head shooting up to find who was responsible. "WHAT THE HELL? WHO DID THAT?"

Everyone stared, but no one came forward. There was nothing I could really do anything about it.

"Are you ok?" Sakura held a hand out to me, and I took it.

"Yeah. Man, people are so freakin' rude." I dusted off the front and back of my pants, but I stopped when I felt something sticking out in the back. A tag? I pulled it out and froze.

It was another note.

"What's that?" Kiba looked over my shoulder.

"Umm, I'll, uhh, be right back!" I ran toward the top of the bleachers, side-stepping out of people's way to avoid knocking them over at the same time.

I quickly surveyed the gym. Gaara's not here. So it really isn't him. Damn it. I wish it were him. Clicking my tongue, I unfolded the note.

Again, completely gruesome. An oversized fish hook was shoved through the roof of my mouth and piercing out through the bridge of my nose. My spine was partially ripped out through the front of my throat. There were leeches or some other blood sucking monster all over what looked like my rotting body, and larva was packed into my mouth, nose, ears, asshole, and the gaping holes that were once my eyes. I was lying under a kitchen table, bare and raw, with my hands tied over my stomach, and my nipples were carved away as well as my groin. On the kitchen table there was a feast of food. My nipples were in the salad along with my testicles and my dick was sticking out of the soup with the head partially bitten off.

I cringed at the image. You'd think I'd stop looking at them by now. Folding the note back up, I trotted down from the bleachers and located a rubbish bin. I ripped the note to shreds and tossed it away.

###

The dance ended about three hours after I got the note. It was a lot of fun and everyone wanted to go out for pizza as an after-party sort of thing. I didn't go though. The entire time I was feeling a little… watched. I was probably just being all paranoid because of the notes, but I decided to just head straight home. Besides, the later it got, the harder it'd be to find a bus to take me home.

Once arriving to the apartment, I kicked off my shoes and dragged myself into my bedroom. I flopped down onto the bed and rubbed my head into the firm mattress.

I need to change back into my regular clothes. This suit is freakin' hot and uncomfortable. I rolled over on to my back. Pulling off the blazer, I shoved it on the floor. I worked on unbuttoning the white dress shirt and tossed that on the floor as well.

"Such a pain." I just want to sleep already.

It's not even that late. Today's just been so freakin' long. First I get those creepy notes, and then Gaara doesn't show up. Oh, and damn. By tomorrow everyone will have heard that _the delinquent _has returned. WONDERFUL! Whatever. It couldn't be helped. I still can't believe I had no idea Shino was getting bullied…

Man, I can't believe how naked I was when I told those jerks off the first time. I frowned deeply. They're going to be making fun of my business… THE SHOWER WAS COLD! Grabbing my pillow, I punched it into the air and then again onto the floor.

Actually…, I wonder what Gaara's looks like. Is he cut or uncut? Is his thick, or is it long? Maybe, both? Is it all red down there? I chuckled a little. Gaara's such a neat freak, I bet it's all nice and trim – oh, or shaved! Haha! I want to see it. So far, we've only gotten as far as grinding against each other. I sighed. I bet his skin there is nice and pink. At the beach, his nipples were pretty pink. I haven't seen them since, though. He's always taking my shirt off, but never his. I guess because I never really initiate it, so every time he gets to do whatever he wants, but I don't.

What do I even want to do? I wouldn't mind doing a lot of the things he does to me. Taste his skin, lick and suck at it until its red and marked up like mine. Maybe even nip a little. His pink nipples probably taste just as good as his lips, his tongue.

Without realizing, I had undone my pants and taken hold of my sudden hard on.

I'll suck until they're red and sore. I'll cover his chest and stomach with my marks. Lightly kiss at his v-line as I pull away his annoying pants and stupid boxers. I hate those things for hiding him away from me. His package is a pale pink: Circumcised and an average size, too. I stare at the curvature until it leads to grits of red.

My hand tightened around myself, and I stroked slowly, but firmly.

He'll say my name, and I'll look up at him. His face flushed and pleading for me. I'll focus back on the mini-Gaara in my hand, softly lick at his tip – teasing him a little before running my tongue all along his length. Up… down…

My hand was holding me firmer, faster. A sound was about to come, but I bit down on my left hand.

As my tongue slides up along him again, I'll take his head in my mouth. Gaara will whimper and moan with a voice so unlike him. I'll take more of him in me until my chin touches against his slightly red sack. I'll suck and suck, and run my tongue all around it until he can't handle it anymore.

My back arched up. My hand picked up its pace. I bit down as hard as I could on my hand to muffle my voice in the pain of it. A stream of warm cream flowed onto my hand and a little sputtered on my stomach. My lower back finally met with the bed, and there were a few spasms that followed. My breathing was heavy as I let my hand out of my mouth. It stung a little. I bit too hard; there was some blood.

I waited until my heart stopped racing and for the giddiness to wear off before forcing myself into the shower. It was when the freezing water hit me that I processed what I had just done. I slumped down into the shower, hugging my knees, and not even bothering to fix the temperature.

I had gotten off on imagining myself blowing Gaara.

I never got around to accepting the idea of me liking guys. Sure. I had accepted the fact that I liked Gaara. But, his maleness was always hidden behind clothes. Now… I just pictured myself sucking on his… and not the other way around. Me. Blowing. Him.

And damn it if it wasn't the best solo I've ever god damn done.

###

**A/N:** This chapter was a little late, sorry about that! I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter - . I'd love to know if any of you have any guesses about who's sending Naru all those cute little notes, and why! Curious to see if it's predictable or not...? Again, thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows! It gives me life :D Visomnia, you're always leaving words of encouragement, thank you so much :3

And of course to everyone, thank you for reading :)


	18. Chapter 18: Ties

.

Gaara

Chapter 18 "Ties"

July 22; Friday

Along the way to the training area, there was a door partially ajar on the right wall. An odd occurrence, I found myself looking in as Baki and I passed it. I was unable to see the person behind the desk, but I did see an exceptionally pale boy standing in front of it.

I heard a few words, "…close, so take your time," from the unseen man.

The boy caught my gaze and smiled with his entire face. I returned my attention to the front. Certainly an odd occurrence.

"You'll be fighting with a recruit recommended by the new partner company." Baki was leading me down a long, metal corridor. "He's garnered a lot of experience through the years. Don't take him lightly."

I didn't respond. It doesn't matter who they chose to kill me; they'll fail as they always have.

Once we reached the end of the hall, the doors automatically opened. As much of the building was, the training room was completely formed with steel. The room was littered with miscellaneous weapons, targets, and obstacles off to the side. At the back of the room a man with bandages hiding his face, except for a single eye, was sitting on the floor. His clothing was loose on him and his long sleeves extended further than his own arms.

He stood at our presence and bowed. "My name is Kinuta, Dosu. I've heard much about you, Sunano, Gaara."

I blinked.

Dosu chuckled lightly. "I'm just a lowly employee, but I still hope to entertain you well today."

The doors opened and closed behind me; Baki was gone. I withheld a sigh and focused back on a hunchbacked man before me. Flexing my fingers, I adjusted my gloves. My hands grabbed onto the nearest weapon: a pair of daggers.

"An impatient one - I hadn't heard that." Dosu didn't make a move.

I threw one of the daggers. Dosu brought his left arm up. While it blocked his vision, I ran forth. The sound of clashing metal as the dagger hit against his arm sounded. He'd deflected it with his arm? Armor under the sleeves, then. I was close enough to strike. Aiming for his head, I raised my arm. His right arm blocked the blow, and then he ducked out of the way and jumped to the side.

He was running backwards in order to keep his eyes on me. I charged after him. He was heading for the sword located at my prior position. That's fine. His eyes were off of me. I increased my speed.

"I wonder who's faster," Dosu took hold of the sword and turned back around.

He raised it over his head to strike. "You or m-"

My blade reached his shoulder first. It dug deep, and I pulled it through; it diagonally sliced through the cloth and flesh along his shoulder and chest. At the same time, I had propelled myself up off the floor and let my feet meet his head, thereby driving him into the ground.

Landing, there was the mechanical sound of the doors opening followed by Baki's voice, "That was rather anticlimactic."

I turned to him.

A few medics entered and took Dosu off the ground in a stretcher.

"Why'd you send him down like that? He was already critically injured." Baki examined Dosu as the medics ran by him.

I wasn't certain if he was wearing more armor underneath, but it's unnecessary to explain. Dropping the weapon, I walked passed Baki and out of the training room.

"Well, hopefully next time we'll find someone that'll be at least a slight challenge." He followed behind me. "Gaara, wait."

I stopped my steps but didn't turn to face him.

"Yondaime-sama is here today and wishes to see you."

I withheld a sigh and headed to his office. Baki did not follow.

###

My estranged parent was shrouded by books and paperwork on his desk making it so I was unable to see him and he unable to see me. However, that did not prevent him from taking notice of my presence when I entered the large office which was the only room walled almost completely by windows.

Without making himself visible, he spoke, "The Kinuta fellow was worthless, then."

I said nothing.

"How has the schooling been? Were you able to establish any ties?" There was the sound of shuffling papers.

He already knows everything. Why has he asked me here?

"I see," he spoke.

This discussion was going to go nowhere. I may as well confirm that it is in fact Kamaitachi looking into Naruto. "Are you having him investigated?"

A tanned hand set a packet of files down. "He wasn't exactly the tie I was hoping for you to make."

My eyes narrowed. What was that supposed to mean? Then, as I thought, there was more to my father sending me to school than what Baki had explained.

"Well, it isn't something you need to concern yourself with." The hand picked up a thick, hardcover book.

He evaded my question. "Is Kamaitachi looking into Naruto?"

Pages fluttered. "You will soon be governing over Shukaku. I need to be aware of the class of company you keep. When the report comes in, it will determine if you may continue to associate with the boy."

"The report will change nothing."

"I see." The book was set back down. "So, your friendship with the boy is special?"

"You will not control me." My fists were forming.

"Then, is this conversation about the control I have over you, or is it about the boy?"

"It was you who requested to meet with me."

"Yes, and there was no issue about control with that." Another packet of documents was collected off his desk by the sole visible hand.

My leather gloves rasped as my fists tightened. "Naruto is irrelevant. I'm simply demanding you stay out of my personal affairs."

There was a hum from behind the desk. "I see."

I should have avoided such a futile discussion. I exited the office, and he said nothing else.

Finally, I was able to step out of the metal-clad building. I noticed, off to the side of where I was to be picked up, a refraction of light against the ground. I stepped closer to it. There was a collection of shattered glass and scattered papers. I lifted my head and turned to face the top of the building. I couldn't see it from here, but I knew where the shattered glass had come from.

So, I had angered him.

###

**A/N:** This was a short chapter to write, so I'll probably post the next one tomorrow or Monday depending on how much time it takes to edit. Thanks for reading :)


	19. Chapter 19: Spar

.

Naruto

Chapter 19 "Spar"

July 23; Saturday

I was an icicle by this point. A shivering one. I don't know how long I've been curled up in the tub with the shower on ice storm, but I'm pretty sure my hand was going to have to be amputated from frostbite. But, that's not important. No, it's not. I've been trying again and again, over and over to picture Sakura-chan, or just any girl in my head sexily, but it just wouldn't work. I even tried picturing it as me, Gaara, and different girls, but I always just kept focusing on him. Not her, not even THEM! JUST HIM!

From the beginning… I was attracted to Gaara. I can see that now. Always staring at him, and always making him out to be girl-like, but what the hell? Gaara's nothing like a girl. I just had to explain the feeling and what way is better than to blame it on barely passable girlish traits? For how long had I been like this? Was I always denying it?

The water burned each time it hit my skin, but I was just so numb to it now. So, this is how I die, huh? The Great Uzumaki, Naruto done in by gayness induced hypothermia.

_Gay_…, huh?

"No!"

I am not gay. Gay means attraction to guys. I am definitely not attracted to guys. Sure, Gaara is a guy, but he's an exception. I may not be into girls so much anymore, but that's just 'cause Gaara is the person I like now, and he's the one I want to touch. That's all there is to it. Even though girls can't do much for me anymore doesn't means all guys are fair game.

It's only Gaara.

It's like what happened with Sakura-chan. When I liked her, I could only focus on her. Other girls just weren't that interesting. I'm just a monogamous guy at heart, and I only want the person who matters to me. Not just anyone will do.

Right. I'm not gay. I might not be totally heterosexual, and I don't think bi fits quite right either… but if I gotta pick a sexuality, it's '_Gaara-sexual_'. Yeah, yeah… Yeah! Gaara-sexual!

_Knock, knock_. "Naruto? What are you doing in there? It's two in the morning," Jiraiya's voice.

Oh, he's back.

Rubbing my face, I forced myself to stand and shut off the water. I grabbed a white towel and quickly dried myself off.

"Ohohoho~, you daydreaming about the new girlfriend?"

Immediately, the towel had fallen to the ground. My eyes were twitching uncontrollably. "NO!"

He laughed annoyingly. "Whatever you say, as long as you clean up properly afterwards. Listen, I need you to pick up a few more resources for my research. Would you, later today?"

"Yeah, yeah." I picked the towel off the ground and tossed it into the hamper.

"By the way, Naruto, there was a letter outside the door for you. Maybe, a love letter. Shall I open it and read it to you?"

I slipped on my boxers and opened up the door to reveal Ero-Sennin standing behind it. He was grinning with the mail in his hand. Frowning, I swiped it and walked off to my bedroom.

"Testy!"

Ignoring the comment, I ripped the envelope open. At the sight, I fell face first onto my bed.

It was another god damn drawing of me. More than that, the sick bastard knows where I live. I forced myself to roll over and properly look at the picture.

My body was spread out upside down on a giant wheel. My arms and legs were tied to it to hold me up. The sides of my stomach had been sliced open, and my innards were pooling out. The bones along my leg and arms splintered through the skin. Finger and toe nails had been torn away. The nails were then shoved into my ears and eye sockets. My nostrils were slit and my eye lids removed. On the corners of my upper lip would have been a full Cheshire grin engraved up to my ears if not for my missing jaw. My tongue hung out limply and vomit mixed with the open flesh along my face. Some of my hair had been shaved off to expose the shattered skull underneath my scalp. Of course, my privates weren't left alone. This time my prick was cut vertically in half and the halves hung apart against my stomach, and then my testicles chopped off and pinned to my nipples with rusted nails.

I held the photo up higher away from me and noticed an outline peeking through. My eyebrows rose. Huh? Flipping the page, I found words written on the back.

It read, "I see the future, and it is bright."

This is just what I needed: A psychic crazy person that wants to torture me to death and knows where I live. Groaning, I ripped the picture to shreds and allowed it to spread throughout my room. I'll clean it up later. I just want to sleep now.

###

Ero-Sennin calls it 'resources for research', but it's just porn. He's not tech savvy enough to use the internet (he's downloaded viruses and fallen for scams on more occasions than I can count), so I'm always getting stuck buying his 'resources' for him when he's too lazy to deal with the annoyingly crowded downtown streets on the weekend. Whatever. It's no big deal really, or at least it wouldn't be if it wasn't for my paranoia about the weirdo. I just had this nagging feeling like he's following me, watching me. It shouldn't matter, though. I was perfectly capable of taking care of him if he tried anything which I doubted he would with so many people around. But then again, you can't reason with crazies. I'll just have to take him down with my fist. Finding my courage again, I pumped my fists into the air. People stared, but I didn't give a crap.

I turned down the familiar alleyway, and finally escaped the weekend crowd. I reached my destination, a dirtied red door at the end of the alley. Pulling off my hood, I kicked at the door in a pattern of five knocks, a pause, two knocks, and then another five after the second pause.

An eye latch opened above my head and yellow eyes gazed down at me. "Password," A gruff voice demanded.

"AHH! THAT'S ENOUGH, BUNTA! YOU KNOW WHO THE HELL I AM!" I banged against the door with my fists.

The eye blinked. "No password, no entry, brat."

Growling with a large frown, I gave in and mumbled, "Myoubokuzan."

The latch shut and the door was yanked open. Glaring, I walked in and passed the behemoth.

Bunta closed the door and approached me. "What does Jiraiya want now?"

I spun around and stared up at Bunta, which hurt my neck because he was almost 7 feet tall. His skin had a reddish tan with warts along it. His bald head shined as he switched the lights in the cramped room on.

"What do you think?" I plopped myself down on the couch for customers.

"Distasteful as always." Bunta turned himself to face another door leading to the storage area and shouted, "GAMAKICHI!"

A young boy that looked too much like a mini-version of his old father popped his head out of the door. "Yo." He grinned childishly.

At least their personalities were different.

"Jiraiya's brat is here." Bunta walked behind the counter with the cash register.

"Ooh~! Naruto?" Gamakichi skipped out and toward me. "Ahh! It is Idiot Naruto!" He waved excitedly. "Yo!"

"Yo, Gamakichi!" I grinned and waved back, then noticed the insult and twitched.

Gamakichi and I chatted for a while about school and our friends before Bunta got impatient and yelled at Gamakichi to hurry up and get the materials I needed. There was some backtalk and a little more yelling, but eventually I got Ero-Sennin's porn.

"By the way, Naruto," Gamakichi began as I was about to head out, "Umm, there's something I saw. Dad wanted me to keep it to myself, but…"

"Is it Kurama?"

"D'uh, stupid. Who else besides the Kyuubi? But, there's also this thing with, Uncle Jirai-"

"Gamakichi!" Bunta grabbed hold of his son's shoulder. "I told you that was a misunderstanding." Yellow eyes shifted to me. "Don't listen to him. It's nothing. Leave."

I frowned. "What about Ero-Sennin?"

Bunta glared at his son before looking back at me and sighing. "That Jiraiya's still looking into the Kyuubi."

I shook my head. "No, he's done with that."

"Yeah. It was just something Gamakichi _thought _he saw." Bunta's grip visibly stiffened.

"HEY! I _know _what I saw. Jiraiya was talking WITH the Kyuubi. No doubt 'bout it. My friends wanted to see the legendary gang leader, and I followed them while trying to change their minds-"

"That's enough. There ain't no way Ero-Sennin would be saying anything to Kurama." I opened up the red door and pulled my orange hood back over my head. "Thanks for this." I held up the bag filled with erotic magazines and videos. "Later."

###

It was already evening by the time I got home. The buses always ran late on the weekends, well later than they usually did. On top of that, downtown was crazy far from the apartment.

I guess it's too late to see Gaara especially since I've got to celebrate the bastard's late birthday tomorrow. I unzipped my jacket and threw it towards the other end of the living room. It was way too hot to be wearing that kind of thing. Tossing the porn on the coffee table and totally determined to play my VIE, I made my way to the couch but the second my bum met the cushion, my phone started to beep with a text.

It was from Sasuke, and there were only two words: "Outside. Spar."

YES! I jumped up. I haven't fought with Sasuke in _forever_. He's the only person that's ever beaten me since I learned how to fight, but I'm also pretty much the only person that's ever beaten him has been me.

Sasuke comes from a family of kendo masters. He'd been studying it practically from the moment he was conceived (and no, I don't think that's an over exaggeration. You know how parents sometimes play classical music over the mom's belly? I'm pretty sure that Sasuke listened to Kendo grunts his entire stay in utero) and since he comes from such a, let's say 'traditional' family, he always aimed to be as good as his brother, who was world renowned for his talent, in a match. But then for some unknown reason, Itachi lost it and killed his family and anyone else having something to do with their Kendo school. He'd been on the run until he got caught recently.

Anyway, Sasuke was always disappointed with the lack of competition. Winning was always too easy for him, and he became the domestic champion. Sasuke's inflated ego pissed me off whenever we had to be in the same room together. One day, I got fed up, and we fought. In the first fight, Sasuke was lucky enough to have his bamboo sword. I had one too, but I'm used to my hands for fighting. Pissed that I lost, I challenged him another time without his sword. Of course, I won that match! Ever since we couldn't stop fighting and somehow this rivalry led to our friendship.

After Sasuke started living with Orochimaru though, the sparring slowed to nothing. I never knew why, and he always refused to tell me, but whatever. He wanted to fight now, and I wasn't going to lose!

I raced down to Sasuke. He was standing in the field by the apartment building with his bamboo sword in hand. Well, if he didn't have it, this would have been boring.

"SASUKE!" I slapped him on the back in greeting.

He glared at me. "You take too long."

I laughed, but stopped as I remembered, "Happy sweet sixteen, you girly bastard! I'm honored that you want to spend the last few hours of this day with me." I glanced up at the sky in thought, then back at my friend. "What about the creep?"

Sasuke walked off to the opposite end of the field. "Let's start already." He got into position with his feet apart, knees bent, and he had a firm hold on the sword in front of him.

I smirked and readied myself as well in a position dissimilar to Sasuke's. My feet were apart, but not aligned and instead of holding onto a sword, my fists were balled up near my face.

"This isn't fair, bastard," I began while still wearing a smirk, "I ain't got any protection or weapon."

Sasuke's smile was also smug. "As if you need it, loser. Kiba said it, right? You can get hit by a boulder and be fine." His shoulders shrugged. "And, a weapon? You're useless with a sword. You'd just wind up hurting yourself with one. Again."

Chuckling, I charged forward.

Sasuke swung. I dipped and the oversized stick flew over my head. I projected a fist toward his stomach, but he leapt back. I ran forward again. Sasuke crouched down with one leg out and spun around, tripping me over. Standing, he brought his sword down on me. I rolled – just barely missing the strike. Sasuke's sword was still planted on the ground. I took hold of it, preventing him from lifting it. I angled my feet toward him and kicked him in the chest. He stumbled back, and his grip on the sword loosened. I was about to kick again, but he had already regained his composure. One arm blocked my kick and the other tore the sword away from my stronghold. Before he could strike me again, I used my hands to help flip me back onto my feet.

Sasuke's gotten better. My kick would have usually sent him flying. So, he's been sparring without me all this time, huh? Bastard's smirking. He knows I'm surprised. Whatever. It doesn't matter. I'll still kick his ass.

Again, I sprinted over to Sasuke. He thrust his sword at me, but I set my hand on it and forced it downward. I jumped up on the stick and ran toward Sasuke and, with a lot more force than the first time, I kicked him in the head. I finally brought him to the ground. I landed back on my feet and brushed my nose with my thumb with pride.

My cheerfulness instantly disappeared, though. Sasuke was supporting himself on his hands as he dryly heaved.

"S-Sasuke?" I crouched down to him.

He started to throw up. The sound and smell was painful, but I just ignored it and franticly rubbed his back.

What the hell is going on? Why the hell is this happening? Was it the kick…?

When he finished emptying the contents of his stomach, Sasuke wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He knocked my hand away from him and stood.

"Ready?" Sasuke got back into a fighting stance.

I knitted my eyebrows. "Hey, we're done here."

"Quit over thinking, loser. It's not something you can do. We're going to continue."

"No, we're done." I stood back up.

Sasuke glared at me. "Fine. I'll start."

He swung at me.

I jumped out of the way. "Sasuke! Enough! Let's go inside."

He tried to strike me from the side. I bent backward, and flipped away from him. He's not willing to listen. I'll just have to end this quickly. I let Sasuke run at me first. As he brought his sword sideways to hit me again, I grabbed it and winced at the force it exerted. It made me slide to the side, but I didn't let go. I stepped forward and sent an uppercut his way. He, refusing to ever release his sword in battle, took the full blow. I let go of the sword, and Sasuke fell back with it. I stooped down, pried the oversized stick out of his hand, and tossed it off to the side after standing back up.

"Tch."

Sasuke hoisted himself on his hands and jerked his legs to kick me over. I was about to catch myself, but he grabbed onto my ankles and pulled me onto the floor. He crawled over me and positioned his fist to hit. Just before it reached between my eyes, he held it back and rolled over next to me.

We laid there under the night sky: Both of us breathing heavily and sweating like crazy. I started to chuckle a little. Sasuke snorted his definition of a laugh.

My laugh settled, thinking back to Sasuke's puke party. "What the hell, bastard? Why'd you puke?"

"You stink, loser. It made me sick."

Lying bastard.

###

Apparently, Sasuke was sleeping over. After I got out of the shower, he was already prepping the futon next to my bed.

"So tell me, loser. Who's the guy?"

My head tilted to the side. "What guy?"

He stared at me dully. "The guy you kissed. I know it wasn't actually me that Shino was referring to."

"Oh."

Should I tell Sasuke about Gaara? I don't know. Like everyone else, he doesn't like me hanging around him...

"Was it me?" His expression was sour and looked like he was about to barf again.

"YOU DON'T NEED TO BE SO DISGUSTED!" I threw a pillow at him. "And no, it wasn't you. Why the hell would I like kissing a bastard like you?" I stuck out my tongue. "Blegh! I don't even wanna remember that happened."

Sasuke had caught the pillow and was holding it in his cross-legged lap. "It couldn't be _that_ Gaara, right? You wouldn't be alive."

I stayed silent while avoiding his stare. The sweat had returned.

"_Oh_, so it was that Gaara." His smirk had also returned.

I looked back over to him. "Y-you're not mad?"

"Hardly care what you do." Sasuke's eyes closed as his smirk widened. "So, what did he do to you?"

"He didn't do anything. I got permission first."

He raised a thin, black eyebrow.

Sasuke's my best friend – I can… It's probably safe enough to just tell him.

"We're sorta together…," Wait are we? "I think." We never talked about it, but c'mon! What else are we?

My raven-haired friend scoffed. "You really are an idiot."

I pouted at him.

He sighed. "You're gay… I never would have guessed."

I droned a bit in disagreement. "Well not so much gay as, well, I, uhh, I call it: umm, G-Gaara… err, -sexual… Other guys don't really… do anything for me, so..."

Sasuke snorted. "Whatever. You're still a loser as always."

I crossed my arms. "You're just jealous that I'm racking up some experience before you."

Sasuke's lips were a thin line. He slid into the futon and turned away from me.

"Sasuke?" I blinked at his sudden coldness. "Are you really that jealous?"

"Go to sleep, loser."

Grumbling, I got up to switch off the lights. The bastard can be so hot and cold sometimes. Like a girl. But, unlike Gaara, he's an ugly girl. That will wake up bald. Hehehe. I still haven't forgotten about my curse, bastard. One day, one day, you shall be bald! With warts! I'll make you apart of the Gama-Sennin family! I snickered as I walked back to my bed, but something hit against my head. I got freaked out and stumbled onto the floor. My head banged against the wall _hard_. Feeling around for the object, it was my pillow. Damn bastard! Always trying to give me a heart attack, or a stroke, or something. I'm going to kick him. Hehehehehe. He'll never see it comi-

"OW!" The hell was that?!

###

I woke up the next morning to see my alarm clock smashed to pieces on the floor below the dent in my wall.

Damn bastard.

###

**A/N: **I was originally going to have Naruto identify as homosexual even though he isn't, but I thought the above reasoning worked a little better for him. He's _kind of_ demisexual, but I don't think he's the type of character to go online and do research on sexuality, so I had him call it [Name]-sexual. What do you think? I personally don't like labels too much as they're a bit confining, so maybe I'm biased.

Anyway, enough rambling. Thank you for the reviews/favs/follows, and of course thanks for reading :)


	20. Chapter 20: Scars of the Past

.

Gaara

Chapter 20 "Scars of the Past"

July 25; Monday

The whispers of the students were loud as they usually were whenever I walked by. However, today was considerably different. Their whispers weren't composed of their disdain for me instead they revolved around a 'Fox Kit'. I had little interest in the beginning. Humans had the tendency to gossip, overloading their minds with worthless and inaccurate data and thus becoming unable to retain anything useful.

Then, I realized the Fox Kit was Naruto. Since then, I've not shied away from a single whisper. Perhaps a hypocritical action, but – to me - information pertaining to my blond was anything but worthless. Even though I knew their words were filled with inaccuracies, I was unable to dismiss my interest.

"Hey, hey! You heard, right? Fox Kit's returned. He threatened a few guys in the locker room on Friday."

"Yeah! He tried to attack them, but luckily they got away in time."

"Why does he have to start things up again? What if the Kyuu-"

"Shhh! Kit will kill you if he hears you mention _him_."

"Who cares about the fox brat? I could take him!"

"Hahaha! Idiot. Even if you could, which: HAHAHA, he'll have the Kyuubi come after you. You think you can actually take on the Bijyuu?"

"They're merciless. They play a part in practically every type of crime: Drugs, theft, human trafficking, murder – all of it. Worst of all is that not a single member has ever been punished by the law. If they get arrested, the case is just dropped!"

"But, I thought Fox Kit wasn't affiliated with Bijyuu anymore?"

"Yeah, so did everyone. He calmed down at the end of junior high and even left downtown, but he actually has a ton of bruises and bandages on his body. He's been fighting the whole time…"

"I-I-I have to share a class with him. Wh-what should I do~?"

"Maybe Principal Tsunade will have him expelled? They can't have a criminal running around school."

The classroom wasn't anything short of a haven from the rumors once the girl Naruto was well-acquainted with appeared. Anyone whispering about the blond was quickly struck by her fist and reduced to dust under her glowering face. I could not find it in me to not be pleased by the reaction.

My contentment immediately vanished at the sight of Naruto as did any sign of idle chatter in the classroom. His white dress shirt, though normally disheveled and untucked, was not normally dirtied with black and green stains. There were cuts and dried blood along his exposed arms and collar bone. More upsetting than anything else was that strained smile across his face as he greeted his friends and nodded to me.

"Naruto-" Iruka began.

"Oh, don't worry, don't worry. I was running late, so I just ate my cup ramen on the walk to the bus stop. It was so delicious that I didn't notice the, uhh…, LOG! The log on the sidewalk, and then WHAM!" Naruto chuckled and set himself down in his seat. "I cried so hard. My ramen, I barely had a bite!"

Lies. All of it lies. Naruto cares little about missing school, even more so if it interferes with his food. And even though he may be clumsy, he's perfectly capable of catching himself in most situations. There's also the detail that a log wouldn't be just lying there on the sidewalk.

Someone did this to him. But, who? Most of the students were inclined to avoid him for fear of his original caretaker, Kurama. And, who would be able to put my blond into such a pathetic state? Naruto is not weak, so who?

I heard a whisper, "Another fight. He just won't stop once he's started. At least, he got hurt. God knows he deserves a million times more."

My fists tightened and my gloves creaked from the action. A growl emitted from my throat. The speaker's head turned to look at me. Their expression distorted into fear. Their attention snapped back to the front, and their body trembled.

I will not stand idly by. No one will ever touch my blond again.

There is only one existence permitted to spill his blood.

###

As usual, after school Naruto came to my residence. I cleaned the small lesions in his skin and gave him a change of clothing. After eating, we sat at our usual positions in my bedroom. He was spread out on my bed while I was working at my desk in the corner of the room. I was certain to close the curtains before sitting there.

I hadn't said a single thing to him today yet. The reason being that Naruto refused to stop talking. He knew I was aware of his lies, and he refused to give me the opportunity to confront him about it.

"… and then, Kiba spilled the entire punch bowl all over the floor! Ino slid in it and she was wearing white, so you can imagine how pissed she was. Kiba was running for his life!" Naruto laughed.

Impatient by this point, I took the break in his speech to speak, "Have you completed your portion of the report for the project?"

His laughter cut off, and he blinked at me. Good. I wanted to distract him from his plan of constant chatter and his thoughts of insignificant people. I'll ask him about today's incident later. Right now, he needs to forget it.

"Umm, well, not exactly." He avoided my stare.

Standing from the desk chair, I gestured for him to take the seat. "Do it now."

"EH? I don't wanna. I just wanna talk to Gaara!"

His pout tempted me. It truly tempted me, but not to 'talk'.

I shut my eyes. "Now."

The pout deepened into a frown as my blond trudged over to the desk. He groaned along the way and sat himself down. I opened up my laptop and set it in front of him. Then, I handed him my copy of the report requirements before picking up the book for Literature. Sitting on the bed, I leaned against the frame and read.

It was hardly five minutes later that my blond was getting continuously distracted. I heard his head whipping back and forth between the computer screen and me. I could even hear the sucking of his lower lip, and it tempted me. However, I restrained myself. If Naruto failed, it'd be impossible for us to share any classes next year, or for us to attend university together.

I felt the tug at my lips. I wasn't aware. There were many things I wished to experience alongside him.

I didn't avert my eyes from the words of Souseki as the wheels of the desk chair rolled. I didn't even avert them when the bed creaked and sunk at the added weight. It was only when I felt the heat of Naruto radiating onto my lap that I shut the book and set it on the nightstand. I stared up at his flushed face.

He cupped my cheeks in his hands. His thumb swept softly against my skin. Naruto leaned in closer to me and kissed my forehead for a brief moment.

"Gaara...?"

"Hm?" I wanted the warmth of his lips to return.

"This…" His finger traced along the etched in character on my forehead, "it's not a regular tattoo, is it?"

I nodded.

He shifted back to look me in the eyes. "Then…?"

"I did it… after Yashamaru. I carved it with a razor. My skin doesn't scar easily, so I had to retrace it right before it could completely heal several times."

Eyes widened, but he calmed them before asking, "Why?"

"Yashamaru… he told me I was unloved, that I was the embodiment of my mother's hatred for the world. The scar is a reminder of her wish for me to exist only for myself and to love only myself."

Somber, Naruto nodded. Then, he suddenly smiled brightly. "But, now you have me!" His smile fell and the tint in his cheeks darkened. "N-not that you lo-love me or anything! That wasn't what I meant- I mean… you aren't alone anymore. I know it's too soon for love and stuff- not that it'll ever be like that, uhh, I mean, y'know. I get that it's just 'like' right now... You-you do like me... right?" His eyes begged for my answer.

That answer was obvious, but I remained silent. Enjoying his growing restlessness and embarrassment that was evident in his fidgeting.

"Gaara!" A pout.

"My answer is the same as yours."

He tilted his head to the side.

"Would I have done any of what I did if I didn't?" I reminded him.

His mouth widened into an impish grin. "I want you to say it."

I raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because I want to hear it!"

My eyes glanced away in thought before returning to the blue eyes, and then the marks along his cheeks. Naruto watched me curiously as I shed my gloves. Copying him, I cupped his face and drew my thumb along the horizontal marks.

"These: how did you acquire them?"

His eyes dimmed. "I got them from Kurama… I'm pretty sure he was in love with my mom, and as I got older I just started to look too much like my dad. You know how Kurama is known as Kyuubi, right? I'm sure you've heard.

"The entire name would be Kyuubi no Kitsune: He's got a huge tattoo on his back of a fox with nine tails that's shrouded in flames. He also has three of these," He turned his head to give me a closer look at the scars, "on either side of his face, but his are thicker and longer. His idea was for me to look more like him and less like my dad… Even though I don't usually scar, like you, the constant abuse to the skin made these things permanent." Naruto scratched the back of his head and forced another smile. "I guess they look pretty cool, though, huh?"

The smile he wore was abhorrent. "Naruto," I wanted to erase it, and I hoped I would be able to do so, "I like you."

His mouth formed a small 'o' and his eyes blinked, and then they shined as his befitting grin sprouted. "Really?!"

I nodded.

He giggled cheerfully to himself for a while, but then his smile fell again, and he stared at me quietly. "I wasn't really ready. Could you say it again? Just one more time, I promise!" He held up his index finger.

With my hands still cupping his face, I pulled him closer to me. Our lips pressed softly together before parting. Our foreheads linked, and I stared into his blue, blue eyes.

"I'll say it as many times as you wish." I kissed his cheek. "I like you, Naruto."

###

**A/N: **Here's a little NaruGaa fluff, there's a little NaruGaa fluff ^.^ Also a little more details about Kurama!

I was bombarded by reviews this week. Thank you, maxridelover as well as the rest who review/fav/follow :D!

Also, are the rest of you also in a deep, deep depression over the end of Naruto manga? *cries for the next 1000 years*.

Thank you for reading as always!


	21. Chapter 21: Warmth

.

Naruto

Chapter 21 "Warmth"

July 25; Monday

"I like you, Naruto," Those were Gaara's words.

What do I do? I'm so happy. My face is on fire, my stomach thinks it's some kind of circus performer, and my heart is about ready to break through my rib cage. What do I do?

Shit. I forgot to breathe.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't help repeating his words in my head: _"I'll say it as many times as you wish... I like you, Naruto."_

"Th-then, O-one more time."

"I like you."

"One more time."

"I like you."

"One more."

"I like-"

I didn't want to wait for him to finish. Those lips that kept saying words that stole my breath each time – it wasn't fair, so I took his ability to breathe away. Not long after our lips touched did Gaara begin to fight against me for control. My hands drifted from his cheeks to his neck, and his fingers twisted in my hair.

I wish I met Gaara sooner. I wish I let myself accept these feelings for him sooner. Every day I've spent without him just feels pointless. It's like I've only just been born and things have only just started. I can't even stand the thought of it ever ending – it's impossible, and I won't allow it.

The both of us were already reacting, and I smiled as I moved my hips against Gaara. The kiss was broken by a short gasp of surprise. We stared at each other as we tried to catch our breaths. Gaara made a move to push me down off of him so that he could take control, but I wasn't going to let him. This time, I wasn't going to struggle. I wasn't going to be passive.

This time, I'm not hiding it. I want Gaara, and I want him to know.

Kissing along his neck, I busied my hands with undoing the buttons down his shirt. The last button was troublesome and refused to go through. I didn't want to stop tasting Gaara's skin though, so I kept fiddling with it. Eventually, I just ripped it apart and shrugged the shirt off him – exposing the white of his shoulders, his chest, stomach…Gwahhh- I'm drooling. Swallowing the brimming saliva, I traced my tongue over his collar bone.

Wanting to feel each part of him, I ran my hands all over his freshly exposed skin. It was surprising, how much muscle was hidden beneath his flesh. It didn't push through his skin, but it was without a doubt there.

"N-Naruto…" His raspy voice was heavy with uneven breaths.

It excited me even more how Gaara writhed and moaned from just my hands. His lack of affection growing up starved him from touch, and I wanted nothing more than to feed him.

I scooted further down from Gaara's lap. I wanted to give my mouth access to his pale pink nipples that I've dreamed about. My breath was caught and my heart raced as I stared at them. I really, really couldn't wait to taste them, but I let my fingers play with them. Teasing him and myself with anticipation first, but it didn't last long. His sounds, his expressions and movements – I lost to them.

After sucking his pink nipples 'till they reddened and the skin around them became blotchy with my marks, I shifted back up to kiss his lips again. At the same time, my hand crawled downward, unbuttoning his pants and dipping beneath his thin underwear. He arched himself into me, and our mouths separated as he whimpered. Softly stroking, I could feel him pulsing in my hand. With my free hand twirling around his neck again, I smirked as I coaxed him into another kiss.

I removed my hands from Gaara and my mouth from his. I shifted away from him and observed his form. His cheeks were red, and he was still breathing heavily. He was covered from his neck to his hips in my marks, and the tip of his head was poking out his underwear. His black rimmed eyes only let a narrow line of sea green out to glare at me, and I smiled.

I set my hands at the hem of his pants, and my fingers tucked beneath the underwear. I slid the barriers away and tossed them on the floor, and I absorbed more of his form into my mind. Gaara wasn't pink but pale with a bit of a rosy hue. His retracted foreskin unveiled the flushed head. My eyes fell lower and I saw that I was right about him keeping the red springs neatly trimmed. I was also ecstatic about my size in comparison to his. It was almost the same. He was a bit longer, but I was thicker. I chuckled, and Gaara's glare returned.

"I told you before," Spreading his knees apart, I lowered myself on to him, "you have no reason to be embarrassed."

I scooped him back into my hand, and Gaara's eyes clenched closed. I wanted to hold off on myself in the beginning, but this was all too perfect. God. _He_ was just too perfect. I undid my own pants and began stroking myself at the same pace. I kept the strokes slow. I didn't want either of us finishing just yet. Lowering my head, I let my tongue flick against the head.

"N-nn." A shiver.

Smirking, I swirled my tongue from his base and up – swirling around the head. Gaara's hands found their way back into my hair, and he pushed. It was an unspoken plea. Kissing the tip, my lips parted and his warmth entered. Gaara pushed me down further, and his hips thrust into my mouth. It went in too deep, and I gagged. I spit him out of my mouth and went into a short coughing fit.

After clearing my throat, I looked back at Gaara. I glared at him for doing that to me. He returned it.

"No more pumping! Or pushing!" I shook my finger at him. "Got it?"

I took his silence as agreement to my terms and lowered myself back down on him.

Before I continued blowing him, I looked back up at Gaara's raccoon eyes. I chuckled as a thought passed through my head. "If your balls were a little bigger, you could really pass for a grumpy tanuki."

His glare intensified, and I laughed again. I proceeded to fondle said balls before taking him into my mouth again. Hardly a moment later, his hands fisted my hair and he pumped even harder than last time. Gagging, I forced him out again. I cupped a hand over my mouth as I dryly heaved a few times.

God. This wasn't nearly as sexy as I imagined it would be.

Wiping the saliva away and a few stray tears with the back of my hand, I glanced up at his face. There it was: That proud smirk. Well, Gaara's much sexier than I pictured, but I just didn't take his personality into account. I completely forgot about his inherent sadism.

"Fine. If you're going to be that way, you can blow yourself." I rolled off the bed and landed on my feet.

I turned to leave the room, and I couldn't help thinking about how hot it would be if Gaara could actually blow himself… while letting me watch. I twitched and shook the thought out of my head. I'M MAD AT HIM!

As I took a step forward, a grip around my wrist stopped me. I looked back. Gaara was on his hand and knees, stopping me in my steps. He lifted his other hand from the bed and tugged me back toward him. His bottom met with the back of his calves, kneeling. After he positioned me exactly in front of him, his grip shifted to the collar of my - technically his – black T-shirt and forced my head down, so our lips could meet.

Once I started to kiss back, his hands shifted to pull the shirt over my head and drop it to the ground. His fingers lightly traced over the head peeking out of my pants, and I shuddered. The touch left as he pulled my pants down, along with my boxers, and they fell around my ankles. I kicked them off. He deepened the kiss as his long fingers wrapped around me and stroked firmly, quickly.

My head was thrown back at the increasing speed and an embarrassing moan escaped. I was so close to cumming, I was, but then Gaara completely let go of me and my hard-on was left twitching in the air. I groaned and tightened my fists. I let one eye look down at him. Again, there's that smirk.

Damn this sadistic bastard.

My teeth clenching, I pushed this bastard down onto the bed. Every part of us was pressed against the other, with the exception of a couple bandages on my body. There was the violent meeting of our lips and tongues, my nipples brushing against his, feet and fingers tangling with each other, and our erections grinding roughly against each other. Our mouths separated as we moaned from reaching our peaks. Our cum mixed and spritzed out on our bellies. It was warm but by the end of the spasms and euphoria, it cooled against our sweaty skin.

I was about to roll off Gaara, but he wrapped his arms around the small of my back. I chuckled lightly, and buried my face into the crook of his neck. Trusting that I wasn't leaving anymore, one of his hands left to maneuver the sheet over us before wrapping around me again.

His shoulder was in my lips' reach, so I gave it a quick peck. The action was shortly reciprocated by Gaara doing the same to the top of my head, and I laughed lightly again.

No matter how sadistic he is, Gaara's undeniably adorable.

That was when I realized it, and my head shot up to look Gaara in the eyes. "I didn't bleed this time! You didn't bite or cut me at all."

"You bled enough today."

My heart stopped.

If it weren't impossible from that last session, I'd already be hard again. Instead, my body reacted to all the feelings he generated by crying.

Gaara sighed lightly through his nostrils as he brought his hand up to wipe my face. I sniffled up my runny nose, but I couldn't ease the tremble in my pout and my eyes wouldn't stop watering.

"What happened today?" Gaara finally asked the question I was trying all day to avoid.

The feels were gone.

I hid back in his neck. "I explained already."

His hand softly brushed through my hair. "Don't lie."

There was no avoiding it.

"A few kids threw some rocks." I leaned into his touch.

"Why didn't you evade them?"

"Other people were around. If they didn't hit me, they were going to hit someone else. One of them even threw badly. I had to dive to catch it, then my shirt got all dirty from the grass."

His hand stopped. "Who were they?"

"I don't know. They ran after, but it doesn't matter."

"I'll find them."

I lifted my head to frown at him. "No. You won't be fighting my battles."

"Are you going to fight back?"

I shook my head. "They'll stop if I ignore them."

Gaara raised a skeptical brow.

"They will! Even if they don't, which they will, I can handle it. I don't want to go back to violence again. I've had enough of it and all it will do is prove everyone right. Prove that I'm nothing more than Kurama's underling, and that I can't solve anything without my fists." I cupped my hands over Gaara's cheeks. "Pain is nothing to me, so don't mind it."

There was a small frown on Gaara's lips. His fingers swept a bang away from my eyes before he spoke, "If I see it happens again, the last thing I'll do is not mind it."

"Gaara!" I sat up from his chest.

"Only I," Setting his hands onto my hips, his nails dug into my skin as well as one of my older wounds, and I winced, "am allowed to do these things to you." Gaara pushed me further down his body, so that he could sit up and stare me directly in the eyes. "There is no exception."

I sighed heavily. "Like I said, fighting them will only prove their words right!" I glanced down at my hips. "AND, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME BLEEDING ENOUGH FOR TODAY?"

Ignoring the outburst, Gaara began, "You don't need to do anything, Naruto. I will assure no one-"

"NO! I'm sick of all the crap everyone says about you. Do you want to give them any more reason to bad mouth you?"

"It doesn't matter to me – their hollow thoughts and words."

I placed my hands on his shoulders and shook him a little. "IT MATTERS TO ME! I hate it. I hate how everyone talks about you and avoids you. Even my friends won't listen to me- Gaara… I don't want you to be alone anymore. So, please, PLEASE, don't interfere!"

I waited for his answer. None came and we stared at each other silently for a while, but Gaara's shifting ended that silence.

"I'm not alone anymore." Gaara leaned toward me, kissing my cheek softly. "I have a sunflower that will never cease to bloom." Warm arms wrapped firmly around me. "I have you, Naruto, and you have me."

###

**A/N:** Sorry. _Sorrysorrysorrysorry~_. I'm _very_ sorry this is so friggin' late and that I upped and disappeared. I've been busy lately, but it's mostly late because I've been feeling super low in general again. On top of that, I really have to have someone else write these x-rated scenes because I can't do it, ughhh. Why don't we have nicer names for genitals? Seriously. Penis is way too formal, and dick is way too crude, and 'member' jfc run a knife through my eye if I ever use that one.

I'm also very sorry if the ending paragraph was way too cheesy for you. I personally like a little cheese 'cause I'm a freako like that. Plus fun fact, I originally was going to name this: Sunflower and Cactus (^^")

ILOVEYOUFORALLTHOSEREVIEWS/FAVS/FOLLOWS! Thankyouuuu~ {insert lots of hearts}

Thank you for reading :D


End file.
